The Male Gender
by Fluttershy 2059123
Summary: When someone is afraid of something not many can relate to, they are picked on and teased, so when Cherry comes to Ouran as an honor student, she expects people to bully her because of her fear of males. What she finds instead are the members of the Host Club, and Lily, a unique girl to say the least. Can they help her overcome her fear before her father finds her?
1. Meeting the Host Club

**Hello everyone. Yeah, well, this should be very interesting, I thought of it while I was trying to fall asleep last night, around ten PM. So, it might be good, it might not be. I hope you like it, if not a little bit! Enjoy.**

**And, so you aren't confused later on:**

**Mori and Honey are in their first year of college (they still hang out a lot with the Host Club to keep it running like normal).**

**Tamaki and Kyoya are in their third year of high school.**

**The twins and Haruhi and the OCs are in their second year of high school!**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Ouran High School, or the characters except for Cherry, Lily, the plot, and the slight OOC of the characters, for that I apologize in advance.**

* * *

"Darling! It's time to wake up, you have to go to school today," a woman calls to her daughter upstairs.

She waits for a moment before she hears a reply.

"Okay m-mom," her daughter replies in between her yawning.

The woman returns to the kitchen, and finishes cooking her and her daughter's fried eggs for breakfast. They were slightly burned, but they would do.

* * *

Upstairs a girl in her mid-teens, around sixteen years old, sits in her small twin sized bed. She yawns and stretches her arms up and over her head of bright red hair. She blinks her big, light green eyes. Her hair is messy and on one side it is scrunched up and flattened.

The girl groans as early sunlight pours lazily through her window. She stretches her long legs out in front of her and then slides out of bed. The blankets fall along with her, landing on top of her as she sits on her black carpeted floor. Opening her mouth wide and licking her lips to get rid of a foul taste, she stands up. Her fluffy blankets slide off of her and onto the floor.

She slowly walks over to her closet, dragging her feet like a zombie. Yawning again, she opens her closet door and peers inside to see a light yellow dress with puffy sleeves with a ball gowned shape. She groans again, she absolutely hated, no, loathed dresses, but her new school uniform was a dress. From what she heard from her mom, the school was like a castle, and so the students had to dress like royals to make it fit.

The girl grabs the dress and literally throws it onto her bed. She pulls out the heeled black shoes that went with it and throws them onto her bed too. Grumbling loudly, the girl drags her feet downstairs and into the kitchen where she sits down at the table and starts to eat the burnt fried eggs in front of her.

"Ew, mom this tastes gross!" the girl gags after taking one bite.

"I know. I told you, I'm a terrible cook. But you don't let me buy take-out," the woman sighs and rolls her eyes at her daughter.

"Yes, because we can't waste money on it. I think I'll just have an apple... or toast..." the girl gets up and puts her plate on the floor.

She whistles and a little black pig comes running to her.

"Here Porky, you can have my eggs," the girl mumbles.

"Why do you call him Porky?" the woman sighs and looks at her daughter through tired deep green eyes.

"Because, he's a pig, and pigs can be made into pork. Easy, plus, I couldn't think of anything better for his name," the girl laughs.

"Alright. Go eat something child! We leave in twenty minutes!"

"That's plenty of time to get ready."

"No it's not, because you seriously need a shower. Girl, you stink," the woman says.

"Ugh, fine," the girl walks to a bowl of fruit and grabs an apple.

She hurriedly eats the apple and then gives the apple core to Porky, who eats it in three well aimed bites. The girl then runs upstairs to her room and grabs her under garments and the dress. She shivers at the thought of having to wear it to school. Running still, she makes her way to the bathroom. She turns the water on and jumps in after stripping her tank top and sweats.

The girl washes her hair and body then gets out. She grabs a fluffy green towel and dries herself off quickly. She pulls on her underwear and then her sports bra. And then, with much hesitation and gagging, she pulls on the dress. She gags dramatically at the feel of silk and velvet on her creamy pale skin.

So, she then walks to her room and pulls on the heels. Oh how she hated heels too. She grabs her black bag for school and put her books, both for school, and for her entertainment, into the bag. She puts notebooks and then pencils into the bag as well. Then, she heaves the bag onto her shoulder and walks awkwardly down the stairs.

"Good, you're ready now. You don't mind being a few minutes late do you?" the woman asks.

"No! I am not going to be late on the first day of school here! For me!" the girl yells at her mom.

"Then you have to walk, or run to school. Because the car is having difficulties," the woman rubs her temples.

"Fine. What time is it?"

"7:05, you better hurry if you want to make it on time. School starts at 7:15!"

"Shoot! Um, bye mom! See you after school. Wish me luck!" the girl takes off her shoes and opens the door.

"Oh, and remember! You aren't going to the all-girl school. You are going to Ouran's private school!" the woman calls after her daughter.

"Okay! Thanks for the reminder!" she calls out behind her as she starts running to her new school barefoot.

The girl runs with long strides and quick footwork. She remembers the last time she had to run like this was when she and her mother were running away from her father. She gasps as a drop of water hits her on the nose.

"Darn it," the girl curses her luck.

She runs harder, trying to get there faster but the rain catches up to her and soon it is pouring rain. When she finally makes it to school, she is soaking wet and tired. Just her luck.

She walks inside and makes her way to the office. She walks into the office and was met with gasps.

"What happened to you dear?" a woman with kind blue eyes asks.

A rumble of thunder answers her.

The woman laughs and grabs her a towel from the clinic.

"Would you by any chance happen to be Cherry Quake?" the woman asks her as the girl dries herself off.

"Yes, I am," the girl responds lightly.

"Ah, I've been expecting you for a week. I see why they call you Cherry with your red hair and green eyes. I'll go grab your schedule," the woman wobbles away to a back room.

"So, you are the new student everybody's talking about. You look like a freak," a random girl snorts as Cherry put her socks on.

"Thanks. I know I am. I would say you are a snob," Cherry replies without looking up. Cherry puts her shoes on and stands up. She braids her red hair that goes to her waist and ties it off with a green ribbon that was in her bag.

"Ugh! I am not a slob!" the girl shrieks.

"I didn't say slob, I said snob. I know it's easy to get them mixed up, but it won't be any better for you," Cherry eyed the girl. She had deep blue-grey eyes and dark red hair.

"Whatever. Get out of my way brat. I need the nurse," the girl snaps at Cherry.

The girl walks past Cherry, who stuck her foot out, and the girl falls flat on her face.

"Ugh! You spoiled little brat! Who do you think you are!?" the girl yells at Cherry.

"My name is Cherry Quake. I am an honor student and who might you be? You spoiled little princess,"

"My name is Princess. Great, another honor student, just like that Haruhi boy." Princess stands up, puffs out her chest, sticks her nose in the sir, and with a sweep of her dress, she marches into the clinic.

"Wow. I've never seen anybody treat Princess like that. She once was Tamaki Suoh's richest regular customer until she blamed Haruhi of sexual abuse, which he would never do. Her nickname is Princess, but her real name is Seika Ayanokoji, also known as Princess Iana Koji. She is like the top female around here while Tamaki Suoh is the top male. I wouldn't go messing with her or him too much, they have fans," the woman looks in awe at Cherry.

"No big deal. I can handle her. Just not him," Cherry smiles at the woman as she hands Cherry her schedule.

"What was that last part dear?"

"Oh nothing. Just nervous about my first day," Cherry says quickly.

"I see. Well, good luck! Oh, and I made sure that all of your teachers are female, on your mother's request. She's a very nice woman,"

"Thank you a ton, for everything so far,"

"Sure. If you need help or anything, just let me know!" the woman smiles back at Cherry.

"Will do. Bye,"

Cherry turns around and waves behind her as she walks out of the office. Her red hair flows behind her like silk in the wind. She glances at her schedule and makes her way to her first class; language arts with Mrs. Necterline.

* * *

As Cherry walks into the classroom she notices several males looking at her. She gulps and walks to the front desk where Mrs. Necterline sits reading the plans for today's class.

"Um, hi. It's my first day here. Where should I sit?" Cherry asks.

"Oh, Cherry I presume?" Mrs. Necterline looks up at Cherry and smiles.

"Yes,"

"You are that one girl who has that fear,"

"Yeah, please don't say it out loud. Others might tease me. I've had it happen before," Cherry quickly cuts her off.

"Okay. Here, I'll write a note to your other teachers. And you can sit in the back next to Lily,"

"Okay, thanks!" Cherry takes the slip of paper Mrs. Necterline wrote and walks to the back of the class and to the only available seat left.

She sits down and puts the paper in the front pocket of the bag. She glances to her left, a window that overlooks the school grounds. She looks to her right; a girl with silver hair and light purple eyes looks back at her.

"Hi! My name is Lily! I'm guessing you are the new student, the one who got in because of your top-notch grades. What's your name?" Lily asks, sticking her hand out in front of her and smiling a brilliant smile.

"I'm Cherry. It's nice to meet you Lily. So, what class is this?" Cherry asks as she shakes Lily's flawless hand.

"Language arts, class 1A. The famous twins are in this class. They are so cute!" Lily blushes and looks at two boys who are sitting one row ahead of them. They sit on either side of a boy with brown hair and flawless skin.

"Who's the person sitting between them?" Cherry asks, pointing to the boy.

"Oh, that's Haruhi Fujioka. S- He's also an honor student! Maybe you two could get along," Lily says.

"Maybe. Are you positive Haruhi isn't a girl? It sounds like a girly name to me," Cherry observes.

"It is a girly name I know. I found out that he's actually a girl. It wasn't hard to figure it out. The 'king' Tamaki, I caught him call Haruhi his 'daughter'. Haruhi and the twins started teasing him afterwards though. It was funny. Hey! I know. After school you should come with me and we can go to the Host Club together! Oh, but be sure not to tell anyone that Haruhi is actually a girl, everyone would freak," Lily squeals in excitement then whispers.

Unable to turn Lily down because of her excitement, Cherry gives in.

"Okay. But only if you promise to stay with me the entire time! I kind of, have a fear... of the male gender," Cherry whispers the last part.

"What?! That's terrible! Why?!" Lily exclaims.

"I'll tell you later, maybe. But you have to promise to keep this a secret. Okay?!" Cherry demands, her eyes frantic.

"If you want me to, then sure! There is one thing I am good at, other than highly appreciating the male gender for their beauty, I am awesome at keeping secrets, most of the time. Although, I don't have any friends because of my loudness and really outgoing personality. I'll keep your secret if you become my friend!" Lily states.

"Deal! I really want a friend, and I love people who can make me do crazy things sometimes," Cherry takes Lily's outstretched hand and they shake on it. They squeal and laugh and then the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class.

* * *

After school, Cherry tries to resist Lily as she drags her to the Host Club by pulling with all her might in the opposite direction. Lily trips her though and Cherry falls forward, only to be pulled the rest of the short distance before she has a chance to gain her balance.

"Why did I let you take me?" Cherry whines as they arrive in front of the door.

"Because, I remember you specifically saying, 'I love people who make me do crazy things sometimes.' So hah! And now, I am taking you to do some crazy things!" Lily laughs at Cherry's irritated face.

"Whatever, how long does it last?" Cherry asks, pulling against Lily's tight grasp on her wrists.

"Um, till around 2 or 4, I don't remember which one. Now, come on. And don't worry, I will be next to you the entire time," Lily smiles cheekily.

"Alright," Cherry whimpers as Lily tugs her forward and Cherry duly allows her to drag her into the room.

Lily opens the doors to Music Room #3 and rose petals float out of the room. Cherry shivers and then follows Lily closely.

"Come on, we are late. They already started five minutes ago, we just get to make a late entry!" Lily says.

Cherry nods and follows Lily further into the room. The first thing she sees is groups of people, well, one male in each group of squealing girls. There are seven groups, although one male, the only one with glasses, has only two girls while the others have, let's just say a lot.

Lily takes Cherry's hand and pulls her into the room. Cherry hides behind Lily's tall form of 5 feet 8 inches. Cherry herself only being 5 feet 7 inches can hide behind her, with slight difficulty.

"Oh! Lily is here! You are late, which is very uncharacteristic of you," the twins say while looking at Lily.

"I'm sorry. I had to literally drag my friend here, and that took some time. Can she join us today?" Lily inquires.

"Sure! We would love a new guest!" the twins say together, smiling brightly.

"You can come out now Cherry. You have to sit down," Lily whispers to Cherry kindly.

Cherry slightly moves out from behind Lily. However, she is in clear view as Lily sits down in a chair. Cherry quickly sits down in the chair next to her.

"So, you are the new student huh?" the twins asks with curious expressions.

"She is. She's shy and doesn't talk much though. At least, that's what I've gathered today in classes," Lily smiles while answering for Cherry who sits extremely close to Lily.

"Oh! She's so cute!" a girl with dark brown hair and tan skin chimes. The other three girls who sit next to her and the twins agree with smiles.

"I hear she got in because she's an honor student. Is that true?" a girl with black hair asks, looking at Cherry.

"Y-yeah," Cherry mumbles.

"She had the highest grades in her other school, she got a lot of awards too!" Lily beams.

"She should go talk to Haruhi. They could study together. I'm sure Haruhi wouldn't mind the extra company," one of the twins says.

"The one who talked is Kaoru. The other is Hikaru. They like to play games to see if girls can tell them apart," Lily whispers to Cherry.

Cherry nods at her and listens to the other girls talk and gush over how cute the two males are. She gags as they show their infamous 'brotherly love'.

"So, ladies. Did you know we are planning a ball next week?" Hikaru asks.

"No. Are you really?! That's so cool, I will totally be there!" the girls squeal. Lily and Cherry laugh quietly at them, and Lily nods to tell them she'll go to.

"So, Cherry. Are you going to come back here tomorrow?" the twins ask, looking at Cherry.

"I'll most likely make her come with me. I like dragging her around. Plus, she needs to be around 'males' new people," Lily says.

"Okay. Well, the Host Club is now closed. See you tomorrow ladies!" the twins say. They pretend not to hear what Lily whispered to herself. They had hosted for nearly two hours, so it was time to close the club for the day.

The girls sigh and whine, but they get up and walk out the door after hugging and saying farewell to their favorite hosts. Lily makes Cherry stay till the last girls walk out of the room. Once the door closes, Lily drags Cherry over to Haruhi who is cleaning up tea cups and plates.

"Haruhi! Hey, I want you to meet my friend, Cherry!" Lily exclaims.

Cherry calms down, seeing as they are all in the kitchen, and it's just three girls.

"Oh, hi Cherry. I have classes with you. You are the only other honor student to make it into Ouran High School, other than me. Congrats with that!" Haruhi smiles.

"Thank you very much Haruhi. You know, you are not male, so why do you act like one?" Cherry asks.

"Um. How did you know I wasn't a boy?" Haruhi asks, suddenly cautious.

"Your name for one, and how you act. You have the feminine edge that made me have my suspicions," Cherry says.

"Oh. Nobody else was able to notice that, except Lily and the other hosts. Well, besides Tamaki," Haruhi admits.

"Yeah, I noticed with how all the girls practically drooled over you," Cherry laughs.

The three laugh lightly, but then Lily gets somewhat serious.

"Haruhi, can you keep a big secret?" Lily asks. She turns to Cherry for permission, when she receives it she turns back to Haruhi.

"Yeah, I kept my gender hidden, pretty well so far," Haruhi nods.

"Okay, you have to promise not to tell a soul. Cherry is afraid of boys," Lily whispers.

"Really? That's new," Haruhi looks at Cherry who nods.

"Yes. Lily dragged me here, and I am terrified of the male gender. So, I guess, can you help me?" Cherry gets what Lily was pointing at.

"Sure, I can try my best I guess. But first, why are you afraid of males?"

"I don't feel like telling you now. Maybe later, when I gain your trust, both of you," Cherry says.

"Okay,"

"I think one thing to do is to get you to come here when you can. That way you can get to know the Host Club's boys," Haruhi suggests.

"Sounds like a plan! I will take her here with me every day! She will first get to know the Hitachiin twins, then Honey, then Mori, and then Kyoya and then, last but not least, Tamaki. Tamaki tends to be, overbearing and loud," Lily exclaims.

"Hey, what's taking you so long Haruhi?!" a loud voice, or three voices yell.

"Hold on a minute! I'm talking with Lily and Cherry!" Haruhi yells back to them.

"I have to go. After every session we have meetings, and they can't start without me," Haruhi laughs with little humor in it.

"Okay. Thank you Haruhi! And don't worry, Cherry won't tell anyone she knows YOU'RE A GIRL!" Lily states loudly. They hear multiple gasps and start to giggle.

Lily takes Cherry's hand and guides her out of the kitchen area. Cherry shrinks to her side as they pass the males of the Host Club. Lily pats her head sweetly and they walk out of the room.

* * *

"So, that was Cherry huh?" Tamaki asks once the door closes.

"Yeah," Haruhi says.

"What info do you know about her Kyoya?" Tamaki asks suddenly.

Kyoya types away on his laptop.

"I… don't have any information on her. All of her records are blank, no birthday, no age, no anything. Rather she can hack into government documents, or someone else did and deleted all information related or about her," Kyoya stares blankly at his screen. His voice holds awe and disappointment.

"That's strange. Try her mother, or father," the twins inquire.

"There is nothing about her mother. But her father has a lot of records, almost all of them are his criminal records," Kyoya states.

"What?! So you're saying that her father is a big time criminal?!" the twins yell.

"Yes. Most of them are rape, child abuse, or illegal making of drugs," Kyoya states.

"Wow. She must live through hell," Haruhi says.

"I feel bad for her. Poor Cherry-chan," Honey says.

"Yeah, no kidding," the twins whisper.

"She must be strong," Mori says in his deep and kind voice.

"Yeah, really strong," Honey says in his sweet childish voice.

"Is that thunder I hear in the distance?" Haruhi asks.

They all stop and listen, a moment later they hear the faint noise of thunder.

"Uh, I have to go. Bye!" Haruhi yelps and runs out of the room, making a mad dash to the room she stays at during the school weeks.

"Is she still afraid of thunder?" Tamaki asks sadly.

They nod and say goodbye before walking in their designated direction towards their rooms.

* * *

"So, where do you stay? I stay here at school, I don't like to go home unless it's the weekends," Lily states.

"I go home, my mom is probably wondering where I am. I'll call her and tell her I'll be home soon," Cherry whips out her red cell phone with a green heart on it and calls her mom.

"Hey mom!" Cherry says.

"Cherry? Where are you?! You were supposed to be home hours ago!" her mother snaps at her.

"Sorry, I was at this club called the Host Club. I met a friend today!"

"Really? My baby got a friend, the first in years. It is a girl right? What does she look like?" her mother gasps and talks like a teen.

"I'll tell you later. But, she and this other girl decided to help me overcome my fear. They are both really nice," Cherry smiles.

"That's good to hear. If you ever need help, you know that you can talk to me right? And when are you going to be home?"

"In a few minutes, I'm walking to the entrance of the school. I'll run home," Cherry responds.

"Okay then! See you soon! Bye sweetie!"

"Bye mom,"

Cherry hangs up and walks to the front door of the school. Lily had followed her and listened to her talk.

"So, see you tomorrow then?" Lily asks. Her light purple eyes gleam in the light from over their heads.

"Yeah. And it's raining again. Great, first I run to school in the rain, now I run home in the rain. I am so going to get sick," Cherry mumbles.

"Yeah. Oh no, Haruhi!"

"What about her?"

"She's afraid of thunder. I normally hang out with her, this week it has been raining with thunder and lightning, so I've been sleeping in her room to make sure she's okay,"

"That's good of you. Well, you better get going then," Cherry smiles at her new friend.

"Yeah, good luck," Lily smiles and hugs Cherry tightly.

They hear a loud bang of thunder that makes the earth and building shake. Lily falls over and the power goes out. They hear more loud noises, ripping sounds and then the building shakes again.

"Ahh! Watch out!" Lily screams and scrambles over to Cherry who is about to walk outside. Lily grabs Cherry's arm and yanks her to the floor, far away from the door and windows.

Cherry's eyes widen as a large tree falls over and lands right in front of the door. She trembles as lightning flashes and thunder erupts again, making the earth quake and giving her a good view of what's in front of her. The tree is on its side, the windows are shattered and the door is broken down. That would've been her had Lily not been there to push her away.

The hallways are pitch black, except when the lightning flashes.

"Lily! Are you okay?" Cherry asks as she recovers from shock.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just shaken up though. Are you okay?" Lily gasps as lightning flashes again, "Your leg!"

Cherry looks down and sees her foot twisted at a slightly odd angle. She didn't feel any pain when she landed.

"Help me up Lily before I keep looking and throw up," Cherry gags.

"O-okay," Lily gags too but helps Cherry stand.

Cherry gasps as pain shoots through her leg and up to her stomach, making it churn and she tastes bile in her throat. Lily helps Cherry walk to her friend's room; they stumble a lot though because of the darkness. Darkness is all they can see, and then, "Ouch! My toe!" Lily cries as she runs into a wall.

"Be careful Lily," Cherry whispers, focusing on not throwing up.

"Kay," Lily whispers back.

Now they both limp to Haruhi's room. Soon they make it. Lily knocks on the door loudly, knowing Haruhi is probably in her closet.

"Who is it?" Haruhi responds shakily.

"Lily and Cherry!" Lily yells.

Haruhi opens the door and gasps as lightning strikes not too far from the building. She sees their limping and ushers them inside quickly. Closing her door and helping them over to her bed, she grabs a washcloth from her bathroom and soaks it. She rings it out and washes Cherry's ankle which is bleeding, being careful to only do it when lightning illuminates her room since she has no flashlights.

Cherry winces but endures the pain. Lily rests her foot on a pillow and allows blood to easily flow to it, easing her toe and foot. Haruhi then wraps Cherry's leg in bandages and makes her prop her foot up on a pillow too. Together the three of them then sit on the neat bed close together for comfort.

Cherry takes out her phone again and dials her mom's number.

"Hi mom, it's me Cherry. I won't be able to come home tonight. A tree fell and crashed outside the only exit to the school and I can't get out. My friend pushed me out of the way so I wouldn't be crushed. But then I landed oddly, hurt my foot, my friend Haruhi bandaged it and now I'm sleeping with my two friends in one of their room's. So, I'll be seeing you tomorrow if they can get the tree moved. Well, goodnight," Cherry leaves a voicemail and hangs up. She puts her phone away and curls up under the blankets.

Soon Lily takes her foot and puts the pillow back where it was. Lily and Haruhi huddle up together and draw comfort from each other's presence. Cherry watches them closely and smiles as every time thunder erupts and Haruhi curls herself up tighter into a ball, Lily hugs her shaking form and Haruhi relaxes. Soon, the storm passes and Haruhi and Lily get under the covers. They curl up around Cherry, and they all fall asleep, feeling comfortable and protected by each other.


	2. A Day Off

The sun rose lazily the next morning. Clouds filled the sky and barely let any sun creep into view. It was a Thursday; the students were getting excited for Friday when they could go home.

A girl with bright red hair and big green eyes yawns and sits up slowly. There was weight on her lower body. Looking down, Cherry sees Lily and Haruhi asleep, curled up together near her knees. She smiles at them and proceeds to poke them awake. When poking them only makes them shift, Cherry tries a different method.

She starts to tickle them awake, earning high pitched squeals from Lily and laughter from Haruhi. She smiles fondly at them as they blink themselves awake the rest of the way.

"Morning sleepy heads! Time to get ready for school," Cherry coos at them.

"Why did you tickle us?" Lily asks, giving Cherry a pointed look.

"You wouldn't wake up, so I tickled you. No big deal," Cherry says, smiling.

"Well, now that we are awake we should get dressed," Haruhi says.

"But, we never changed out of our clothes," Lily and Cherry say.

Haruhi blinks and remembers about last night, the thunderstorm, them coming in limping, the blood, and then falling asleep.

"Oh, well, you can wash your clothes quickly downstairs in the laundry room," Haruhi states and gets up.

"Okay," Lily responds and gets out of bed too.

"I have tank tops and sweats you can wear while you wash your clothes," Haruhi says.

"I have my own; I'll go get them from my room," Lily huffs and crosses her arms before walking out of the room.

"Where's the bathroom?" Cherry asks after a moment of awkward silence.

"To the left and down the hall," Haruhi says, pointing in the general direction.

"Kay thanks!" Cherry lifts her legs and jumps off the bed, only to fall flat on her face and a searing pain to shoot through her.

"Oh, I forgot that you can't really walk. Here," Haruhi rushes over and helps Cherry up then helps her stand and walk to the bathroom.

"Thank you," Cherry mumbles as Haruhi closes the door.

"No problem," Haruhi smiles lightly at her.

The door closes and Cherry limps to the mirror. She sees her hair a complete disaster and starts to fuss over it. She combs through her hair with her fingers idly and then runs her fingers over her face, smoothing out her eyebrows and wiping drool from her cheek. She turns the water on, splashes water onto her face and takes the bar of soap. She washes her face and then does her business.

Two minutes later, Cherry limps out of the bathroom. She sees Lily and Haruhi talking and laughing, waiting for her nicely.

"So, where do we wash our clothes?" Cherry asks.

Haruhi and Lily look up, startled at the sudden noise.

"Oh, I can lead you there," Haruhi murmurs.

Cherry nods and Lily and Haruhi walk over to her. Haruhi walks over to her dresser, which is right behind Cherry, and takes out extra sweats and a tank for her. Lily walks over to Cherry and hooks her arm under Cherry's, balancing her. Haruhi then walks over and hands her the clothes.

"Go put these on and then we can go," Haruhi says simply.

"Okay," Cherry takes the clothes and Lily helps her back to the bathroom.

Cherry changes with difficulty and soon comes out carrying her old clothes. They then all walk down the hallways, arm in arm, and soon they reach their destination. The three walk into the laundry room and wash the two's clothes. After ten minutes they are dressed in warm clean clothes and heading back to Haruhi's room where they left their bags for school.

They soon reach Haruhi's room and walk inside.

"Thanks a ton for showing me where the laundry room is!" Cherry exclaims.

"You're welcome," Haruhi flashes her a bright smile and they giggle.

"Come on, we should head to class. The bell is going to ring in five minutes," Lily says.

They nod and follow Lily out of the room. Haruhi turns and locks her door then helps Cherry walk to their shared class. After three minutes they make it to their first class. Their teacher gasps as she sees them, shuffling through papers, looking for something though she stops when they walk into the room.

"Oh my gosh! What happened to your leg?" Mrs. Necterline asks worriedly.

Cherry inwardly smiles, the way Mrs. Necterline is fussing over her reminds her of a mother hen.

"When the tree fell in front of the school, Cherry and I were at the door. Cherry was about to go outside when the tree fell. I managed to push her out of the way before it crushed her, but she landed funny and this was the result," Lily explains sadly.

"I see. You should have that looked at. Good job though Lily, I'm sure Cherry deeply appreciates you saving her," Mrs. Necterline says.

"Yes, I do appreciate you saving me Lily. Thanks. And my foot's fine. Haruhi fixed it up and bandaged it. I'm sure it's fine. Plus when I get home my mom will take a look at it, she technically is a doctor, but it unemployed," Cherry says, smiling slightly.

"Okay, if you say so. But do be careful Cherry," Mrs. Necterline says, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"I will. I have classes with both of them so I'll be perfectly fine," Cherry smiles.

Mrs. Necterline nods but then laughs.

"You three realize that since the tree crushed the entrance to the building and the electricity went out that we have no school today, right?"

Realization dawns on them; Mrs. Necterline laughs.

"Go back to your rooms and get changed. You can go home once they remove the tree from the entrance. The students who went home have to stay there since they are unable to get into the school by the front entrance,"

"But, we can get out from the back doors..." Haruhi trails off.

"Oh yes, but I suggest that Cherry doesn't walk home by herself seeing as she is injured,"

They nod in agreement and the three walk out of the room giggling. They make their way to Haruhi's room where they change back into the tank tops and sweat pants. Quietly they sit back on the beds and Cherry pulls out her phone, quickly dialing her mom's number; her mom answers immediately.

"Darling, are you okay?" her mom's voice flits through the silent room.

"Yes mom, I'm fine. I won't be able to come home until later when my foot is better enough for me to walk on it,"

"Okay, is that all?"

"Yes,"

"Okay, well I am looking up jobs right now so I will see you a little later okay?"

"Okay, bye,"

"Bye!"

The call ends and Cherry puts her phone into her pocket. Haruhi and Lily watch her then begin talking about random things. As the minutes turn into hours they talk about the silliest things, sometimes serious things, like how Haruhi's mom died when she was young, others about who they have crushes on, but neither of the three actually tell who they like though they try and pry it from each other. Finally Cherry gets up and tests out her foot. Haruhi and Lily stand on either side to make sure she doesn't fall as she stands and walks around a bit.

"I think I can walk home now," Cherry says finally.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thank you so much for helping me and everything!" Cherry exclaims as she grabs her school uniform and bag.

"Ah, you're welcome. It was really no big deal. I had fun, for the most part," Haruhi smiles.

"I did too! Come on, we will walk you to the back of the school," Lily grins.

She nods and they walk out together, making small talk about whatever else they didn't mention before. They soon come to the back doors and they look at each other. Finally, Lily smiles.

"You best be off now so your mom doesn't worry about you more than she already does,"

"Okay. Again, thank you for everything, goodbye," with that, Cherry, Haruhi and Lily wave then walk off in different directions.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter, but the next one is long, promise! Hope you liked it! Please, do review!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	3. Secret Revealed

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club and I never will, I am putting this here for the two chapters before this, and the many chapters (hopefully), after this one. The only thing I own is the plot line and the OC's.**

* * *

That night as Cherry walks into her house her mom hugs her tightly before leading her into the living room and pushing her onto the couch. Cherry waits as her mom quickly grabs the first aid kit then rushes back. Swiftly yet with much caution, her mom unwraps the bandages from her foot and ankle, throwing them into a bloody pile on the ground next to her. She then takes her time cleaning the wound before she wraps it again in fresh bandages then ties it off tightly with a knot.

"Now, Cherry, I am very happy you are home because I have exciting news!"

"What is it?" Cherry asks, tilting her head with curiosity.

"I have found a job, and I am going to go in for an interview tomorrow!" her mom squeals with excitement.

Cherry grins and gets up, hugging her mom in congratulations.

"What job are you applying for?"

"Oh yes, I am applying to be a baby nurse at that large hospital we saw when we drove through town the first time," her eyes sparkle.

"Really? I didn't know you wanted to be a baby nurse,"

"Well, I figured since I am good with children, and since I love babies that I would become a nurse that took care of babies specifically!"

Cherry nods after she considers this.

"Maybe I should get a job as a vet or something," Cherry says.

Her mother sighs as she looks up at the ceiling.

"Dear, I don't want you to have to work because you feel the need to earn money to help-"

"That is not why I am thinking about getting a job mom. I want to get a job as someone who cares for animals because I love them, just like you love the job you applied for. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, what's for dinner?"

"Take out!"

"No, we can't afford it," she says completely serious.

"What? But Cherry my cooking is terrible! You hate my food as much as I hate my food, so you should let me buy takeout,"

"No. We need to save money, and until you get that job and earn money for takeout, since it is so expensive, then we aren't having takeout,"

Her mom pouts but finally sighs in defeat.

"Fine, but we are having ramen in a cup okay?"

"Okay, do we have beef?" Cherry asks hopefully.

"Ah, yes. But I get to have it since you won't let me buy takeout,"

"There's more right?"

"Nope, just the one,"

"What, but mom that's not fair!" Cherry whines.

"Yes it is, you aren't supposed to act like the parent here, I am, so-"

"Right now you are acting like a selfish child," Cherry mumbles.

"What was that?" her mom glares at her.

"Nothing!" Cherry squeaks.

"That's what I thought. Now go upstairs and get changed into your own clothes, then wash up while I make dinner,"

"Yes mom,"

Cherry limps upstairs and into her dark room. She flips the light on then changes into her PJ's. Quietly she goes into the bathroom and washes her hands and face then she limps back down the steps into the kitchen where her mom is pouring steaming hot water into the cups of ramen. They wait for ten minutes before they finally deem the ramen soaked enough so it isn't hard then they dig in. Porky the pig sits under the table as they slurp up the food, splattering hot water into the air and on their faces.

After they clean up they brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Cherry listens as her mom whistles to herself as she sweeps around her room doing who knows what. Cherry picks Porky up and snuggles him to her chest; he snorts and nuzzles her the best he can. She gets under her covers and places Porky on top of them at the foot of her bed then snuggles into her pillow. She soon falls asleep.

The next day Cherry walks into class and sits down next to Lily who smiles, Cherry smiles back. The twins bounce into the room smiling like maniacs. They sit down on either side of Haruhi, who raises her eyebrows in question.

"What did you do now?" Haruhi asks accusingly.

"Nothing!" the twins smile.

"What did you do?" Lily asks, tilting her head and putting on a curious smile.

"Nothing," the twin's smiles widen more.

"Spit it out already, or so help me I'll never let you over to my house again," Haruhi threatens.

"Alright, alright. We booby trapped the teacher's bathrooms," the twins whisper.

"You what?!" Lily and Haruhi yelp.

"We already told you," Kaoru says, waving his hand dismissively.

"You are so going to get in trouble for that!" Lily says.

"Not if they don't know it was us," the twins smirk and wave their pointer fingers at them.

"What did you do to make them not know it was you?" Haruhi asks, shaking her head sadly.

"We had Tamaki sign the wall. We tricked him into thinking he was signing an autograph. He was so happy to do that! You should have seen his face, it lit up like a light bulb!" the twins double over laughing.

"Oh my gosh, you guys," Haruhi sighs, rubbing her temples.

"Wait for it, and now!" the twins whisper.

"Wait! I didn't do anything! Somebody help me!" Tamaki yells. Two angry teachers covered in green goop and toilet paper drag Tamaki past their room and to the main office. Tamaki sees the twins laughing and his face becomes red.

"It was those two I tell you! Those demon twins! Get them, not me!" Tamaki yells, pointing at the twins who laugh even harder, tears pool from their eyes as they laugh.

Cherry, Lily, Haruhi, and the twins burst out laughing, even harder than before. Cherry laughs the quietest though, so she's not noticed.

"Oh my gosh! Cherry, you laughed! We haven't seen you laugh before," the twins say.

Cherry's face turns red and she clamps her mouth shut tight. She turns her head away from them and busies herself with reading one of her favorite books about dragons and werewolves.

"You know, she is shy. She doesn't tend to laugh a lot. The only time I've heard her laugh was yesterday in first period. But even then I could barely hear her," Lily says, her laughter dies in her throat.

"Why is she so shy?" the twins ask, their curiosity getting the better of them.

"Don't know actually. But she's afraid of, something," Lily hints.

Cherry is so focused on not laughing and reading that she doesn't hear them.

"So, she's afraid of us?" Hikaru asks.

"Not you in particular, something bigger than just you two," Haruhi says, giving another hint, knowing where Lily was going with the whole thing.

"The Host Club?" Kaoru guesses.

"Bigger," Lily and Haruhi say.

"The school?" Hikaru tries.

"No, she does fine around girls...oh. Boys?" Kaoru guesses.

"Even bigger,"

"What could be bigger than that?" the twins inquire.

"The other population that is not girls," Lily concludes, giving up in trying to help.

"The male population?"

"Yeah,"

"Wait, all males?"

"Yes. I don't know why, but she said that she might tell us if we gained her trust," Lily says. Her heart aches with sadness for her new friend.

"So what are you going to do?" the twins ask.

"We are going to try and get her used to the Host Club and then gradually expand her horizon and try to get her used to the boys in our classes," Haruhi says.

"Can we help?" Kaoru asks.

"If you want, but you can't tell her we told you. And you have to be nice," Lily exclaims quietly.

"Okay!" the twins cheer and smile again.

"Please take a seat everybody. We will now turn to page 50 in your literacy books," Mrs. Necterline says.

* * *

"Wow, what a day. Now I can go home!" Cherry says happily, stretching her arms out wide.

"Yeah. Today was quite a day. Do you want to skip the Host Club today so you can go home?" Lily asks as they walk to Music room 3.

"Can I? I would love to go home today and skip the Host club," Cherry says, her eyes begin to fill with excitement.

"Well now that you say that..." she sighs, "Yes you can. I'll tell Haruhi I let you," Lily says.

"Thank you so much Lily! And by the way, I love your hair when it's braided. It looks nice," Cherry smiles.

"Your welcome and thanks," Lily feels her braided silver hair, "Well, bye. And be extra careful on your way home! I won't be there to push you out of the way if another tree tries to fall on you!" Lily exclaims loudly.

"Okay. Bye," Cherry pulls Lily in for a big hug. Lily gasps as Cherry squeezes her to death.

"Can't... breathe!" Lily chokes out.

"Oops. Sorry. Bye now!" Cherry lets go of Lily and limps off, though less, dragging her black bag after her. Her shoes are already in her bag so she can walk faster and without limping as much.

Lily waves as Cherry walks out of view. She sighs and wishes her luck on her way home. Then she skips off towards the Host Club. As she skips, she comes across Princess. She stops skipping and walks quickly past her.

"Hey, you there. Have you seen that brat Cherry?" Princess demands.

"Nope! Now I have to go, I'll be late for the Host Club! The one that you got kicked out of," Lily giggles and dashes away as Princess screams after her.

Lily makes a mad dash towards Music room 3 as Princess chases after her yelling and cursing at her. Lily laughs the entire way. She soon makes it to the room and runs inside. She laughs and runs over to Haruhi.

"Hey Haruhi! Cherry couldn't make it today, she was really excited to go home so I let her. She's on her way home right now. So, we can't help her get over her fear yet," Lily gasps while smiling so big it starts to hurt her cheeks.

"Okay. Why is your face so flushed?" Haruhi asks as she serves her customers tea.

"I was running away from Princess. She wanted to know where Cherry was, and I told you where she was... she might have listened in... OH NO! Cherry!" Lily yelps as realization dawns on her.

"You what?!" Haruhi nearly yells at Lily at this.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Lily starts to breath unevenly.

"Hey, Lily, calm down okay?" Haruhi says as her customers watch Lily with worry as she hyperventilates.

"We should take her to the nurse," a girl with short blonde hair says.

"Yeah, will you take her?" Haruhi asks worriedly.

"Yes! I'll take her. Come on Lily," the girl gets up and guides Lily from the room quickly.

"Hey, Haruhi. What's up with Lily?" Hikaru and Kaoru ask walking over to Haruhi's table.

"She was running from Princess and she told me where Cherry was going, and apparently, Princess was asking where Cherry was," Haruhi explains.

"So that means Cherry's in trouble?" Kaoru asks, his face twists with worry, but they don't notice, as it's hardly anything at all.

"Maybe. And she still hasn't recovered from yesterday," Haruhi adds in a whisper.

Kaoru and Hikaru gasp and run off. Leaving their customers to stare after them sadly.

"They just really had to use the bathroom," Haruhi calls over to them.

The girls nod and smile, soon resuming a discussion and cooing over the twins.

* * *

"I can't believe that Princess is after Cherry. What do you think Cherry did to her?" Kaoru asks.

"I don't know but we better hurry if we are going to make it on time. Cherry was still pretty slow when she left today, and she still was limping," Hikaru says, worry seeping into his voice.

"Yeah," Kaoru and Hikaru race to the entrance of the school and frantically look around. They just now realize that they had no idea where Cherry lived, or what direction she went in.

"Boys? What are you doing? Shouldn't you be at the Host Club?" the clinic nurse asks, walking out of the school with her bag.

"Do you know which way Cherry went? Princess is after her and Cherry was injured yesterday when the tree fell," Kaoru exclaims, his eyes wide.

"Oh dear. She went down that street and turned left. Princess would've followed behind her for a while and then struck. Hurry boys," the nurse says.

"Thank you!" Hikaru yells after them as they race down the sidewalk.

* * *

"I can't wait to be home. I'm so excited to see mom again. I hope she's alright and not too worried," Cherry mumbles to herself as she limps home. Her usually long quick strides are short and slow.

She continues walking home when she suddenly hears a noise. She whirls around and gets into a low stance that will help her either run off or fight if need be. Shoes echo as someone walks out from the shadows.

She recognizes heels and then the dress uniform from Ouran, and then the red hair.

"Ah, Iana Koji. Why are you following me home?" Cherry asks. She stands up straight and tall. With her bare feet she is still two or three inches taller than Princess in heels.

"Don't call me that!" she yells.

"I think I just did. Now what do you want?"

"You are going to pay for humiliating me yesterday. Now even my closest friends think I'm weak and a fool," Princess snaps.

"Oh goody. That's because you are," Cherry taunts.

"You are so going to pay for that Quake. Do you know what I did to Fujioka when he messed with me?"

"Yes, you dumped his bag and things into the pond. Very mean, very much like your soul,"

"Ugh. You are such a little brat! You will pay right now! And even worse than that Fujioka had to pay!" Princess ran at Cherry who stood there looking amused.

"Why are you so damn happy?"

"Because you don't know anything about fighting so why do you act like you do?" Cherry smirks.

"I do know and I'll show you!" Princess grabs Cherry's wrist and pulls it behind her back hard.

"Why aren't you flinching?"

"Because I've been hurt far worse than this. So bad, in fact, that normal people would rather die than go through the pain," Cherry states.

"What?" Princess releases her grip and steps back, looking shocked.

"You heard me. Like, abuse," Cherry says, her face emotionless, her voice sad and strained.

"You were abused?" Princess asks, her face slack and sad.

"Yes. And so much more," Cherry responds.

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry, I guess, I should learn about people before,"

"Before you go picking on them because they stood up to you?" Cherry finishes in question.

"Yeah,"

"You should go now. I need to get home to my mom,"

"Was she also abused?"

"Yes, ten times worse than what I got. You should go now," Cherry gives Princess a light push.

"I am so sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah, sure. You should always give people a second chance,"

"Oh thank you!" Princess runs and hugs Cherry tightly.

"Your welcome. Now go, I have a feeling that if you don't leave now and go through that alleyway, then you won't get any mercy from two people that you know," Cherry smiles.

Princess nods and takes off down the alleyway that Cherry pointed out to her. Cherry smiles and turns around, continuing walking home. She hurries because she knows that the two following her now are males.

* * *

"Hey look! There she is! Where is Princess?" Hikaru asks, turning his head around, searching for a blob of red hair.

"Don't know. Let's ask her," Kaoru says. With that, they run over to Cherry who is limping away quickly.

They run and reach for her arms; they each grab one and stop her. Cherry screams when she feels hands grabbing her. The twins wince and turn her around. She screams again but it dies in her throat as she sees her classmates. She whimpers loudly when they don't let go of her arms. They let her go and she steps away from them quickly and turns, running down the road to her house, or at least, running as best she can with a very noticeable limp.

The twins look at each other and they turn back to go back to their club.

"I don't think Princess heard Lily," Hikaru says solemnly.

"Yeah, and I think we scared her more then she needs," Kaoru whispers back to his twin.

"Well, at least Lily won't be worried anymore," Hikaru jokes.

"Yeah, at least,"

* * *

Cherry makes it to her home in less than three minutes after she saw the twins. She laughs at how she scared them when she screamed. She walks inside her house and her mother hugs her from out of nowhere.

"Darling! I heard you scream down the road, are you alright?" her mother asks, checking her over for any wounds.

"I'm fine. Hey, my foot, it hurts since I ran home, can you check it to make sure I didn't strain it more?"

"Of course!"

Her mother walks her over to a couch and then sits her down while she goes to the bathroom and grabs her first aid kit. Her mother unwraps her foot and then cleans up the slight blood that came from her reopened wound. Her mother works for a good five minutes cleaning it up and putting it in place again before she rewraps it.

"So how are your new friends?" her mother asks.

"Ah, who, Haruhi Fujioka or Lily... whatever her last name is?"

"Haruhi? I know her!" her mother exclaims slapping her leg.

"Really? How?"

"Oh, I once met her father when he came into the hospital with a broken arm from fighting when he was drunk," her mother laughs.

"Yeah, she's really nice. But she dresses and pretends to be a boy so she can,"

"Pay a debt that she got from breaking a very expensive vase? I know, her father told me all about it. Along with everything about her deceased mother and her rough life,"

"I see. Well, what's for dinner?" Cherry asks.

"Meatloaf!"

"Ew. Mom, no offense but you make the worst meatloaf ever,"

"Hey, I always offer take-out, but you always decline,"

"Fine. I'll be in my room reading," Cherry stands up and limps upstairs.

"Okay! Wait, does that mean we can have take-out?!"

"Sure, whatever. But only this once!"

"Yes," her mother whispers to herself happily.

Cherry smiles as she limps up the stairs to her room. She closes the door softly and walks over to her closet. She takes off her dress and heels and then pulls on her long green fleece PJ's. As she's walking over to her bed she trips over her blankets that she didn't pick up off the floor from that morning, and falls onto her bed with a yelp.

She lands face first onto her messy bed and begins to laugh. She rolls over onto her back and laughs. After she catches her breath, Cherry gazes up at the ceiling and thinks. As she thinks her mind wanders to the Host Club, specifically the twins. Her face heats up and she touches her forehead.

"Mom! I think I'm getting sick!" Cherry yells down to her mom who just finished ordering dinner.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because my face is all warm!"

"Why?!"

"Because I was thinking!"

"About what?!"

"These two twins at school who scared me and that's why I screamed,"

"Are they female or male?!"

"Male!"

"Oh my gosh! My baby has a crush!"

"What?!"

"Hold on..." Her mother runs upstairs and opens the door. She grins and jumps onto Cherry's bed.

"Okay. Now tell me, how did you feel when you first saw them?" her mother asks.

"What? Why?"

"Because, just answer the question!"

"Fine. Well, I just saw them as more boys,"

"Okay, what about when they scared you? How did you feel?"

"Scared,"

"Um, how about after they scared you?"

"I screamed and scared them, so then I felt happy,"

"So, do you like them?"

"No,"

"What? Why not? What do they look like?"

"Look them up online. They are the sons of a very wealthy, famous man, and a designer is their mother," Cherry shrugs.

"Fine then. I will look them up. What are their names?"

"Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin," Cherry says.

"Them? Oh my gosh, I know their mom! I love her line of work, and you know how picky I am. So she hired me over the weekends to see if I like her new lines, and then in return for being honest with her and helping her I get to get one set, a dress with heels, or bottoms and a top for free! And of my choice too! I love her. So if you ever decide you like her sons, then we can help!" her mom cheers while smiling like a maniac.

"No. I do not like them because they are males. You know that I am afraid of boys. And you know firsthand why I am,"

"I know, but still,"

"So, am I sick or not?"

"Oh, no, you aren't sick,"

"Oh, and when did you get a part-time job?"

"Oh just last weekend; you see I became fast friends with their mother and we talked a lot, and soon came upon the topic of our situation with how we don't have much clothing..."

"But that's not entirely true..."

"But it sort of is true, and I only twisted it so much to the part where she felt pity..."

Cherry stares at her mom in disbelief. Just as she is about to open her mouth to reprimand her, her mother yells.

"Well, dinner's here! Come, let's go eat!"

Cherry sighs but softly says, "I'll be there in a sec,"

Her mother nods and gets up then walks out of the room. Cherry takes a moment to think about what her mom said. Do I like them? I guess I take satisfaction in getting a reaction out of them. But do I like them? Maybe Kaoru, a little bit. But, he's cute, and what am I saying? Let's just go eat dinner and then I'll think later. Besides, mom needs me there so she doesn't bribe the pizza guy to give us more for free since she has done it before.

Cherry gets up and walks out of her room then to the table where her mom sits, eyeing the food like she is starving.

"You can eat you know," Cherry says as she sits down.

"I know, but I have to wait for you," her mom says.

"Well, eat now,"

"K!"

They dig into their dinner and Porky the pig wanders underneath the table, waiting for them to drop something. Suddenly Cherry asks what was on her mind.

"So, did you get the pizza guy to give you something for free by efficiently 'convincing' him?"

Her mom chokes on her mouthful, gagging as Cherry reaches across the table to slap her back once her mom turns to the side. After she coughs the food up she swallows properly, then, while blushing immensely, responds shakily.

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

She simply gives her mom a disappointed look; one that makes her mother laugh since she was so like Haruhi is wasn't funny.

Later that night Cherry goes to bed with Porky the pig following her closely. She showers quickly and dries off then slips into her PJ's. Porky watches her as he sits by the door waiting for her to finish. She brushes her teeth and washes her face then combs through her semi dry hair that tumbles down her back and to her waist. She braids her hair slowly once it's brushed and then she ties it off with a green ribbon. Humming a lullaby that her mother sang her to sleep with after her father took out his anger on them she walks into her room.

Porky snorts and makes small noises as he tries to sing along in his own little way. Cherry laughs at him and kneels down to his level. She pets his head soothingly as he closes his eyes and his tail begins to thump on the floor. Cherry picks him up and limps to her room. Her fuzzy black carpet feels good on her toes. Cherry flicks on her lamp by her bed and sits down on her newly made bed. Her mother had made it while Cherry did the dishes after pizza.

Cherry grabs her black school bag and pulls out her homework that needs to be turned in by tomorrow. She starts to do it while Porky snuggles up to her leg. After an hour she sighs and closes her math journal and book. She puts them into her bag and turns off her lamp. She puts her little red phone on her nightstand and checks the time. It reads 10:06 pm.

She sighs again and picks little Porky up. His black coat makes him blend in with the dark and her carpet. She strokes his head in a calming manner, calming both herself and him down until Porky doses off into the land of dreams. Cherry muses to herself, I wonder if pigs can dream?

She keeps petting Porky and soon she remembers back to when she got him.

~Flashback~

_It was a couples months ago. Her mother and her had just run away and had found a new house to live in. Her mother paid it off right away with money she stole from her father's bank account. Her mother had taught her everything she knew about hacking into computers without being caught. She made it seem like her father had withdrawn all his money._

_It had been a week since they had moved into their new house and it was missing one little thing._

_"Hey mom! I want a pet. Can we please get one?" Cherry had pleaded with her mother for two days before she had to finally give in. Nobody could resist her puppy eyes._

_"Fine, fine! I give up, you can have a pet. But it has to be small. What were you thinking?"_

_"I was thinking, and I researched all about them, that we should get a miniature pig!" Cherry had said it like it was a puppy._

_"A pig? You have to be kidding me," her mother had rolled her eyes and stated it was a terrible idea, but Cherry didn't give up._

_"Yes a pig. If we get it as a baby, then we can train it to pee outside and be a good little pig. See, I made an entire essay about it. They can eat our scraps, as long as it is organic and not meat. They can sleep in my bed too, once we train it to pee outside and to hold it. And the best part is, I'll do all the work. You just have to enjoy its cuteness,"_

_Her mom was still a bit hesitant._

_"You don't need to worry about a thing. I can take care of it, and everything!" Cherry looked at her mom with big eyes and a small pout._

_"Oh, give me an hour to research and think about it,"_

_"Okay! Thanks so much!" Cherry hugged her mom and smiled._

_An hour later her mom gave in and they went to a small family farm with a litter of piglets that were just weaned a week ago. Cherry had sat in the middle of the field and waited. Her mom chased the pigs about so they could leave, but Cherry finally got her to sit down with her. After two minutes of sitting still, a cute little black pig had cautiously walked up to Cherry. He sniffed her hand and then nuzzled it. Cherry gently petted it and it had climbed into her lap with a content sigh._

_Her mom fell in love with it and they lived happily together ever since._

~Flashback end~

Cherry smiles at the fond memory. She settles down and gets under the covers, holding Porky snug to her. Porky sighs in content as Cherry pulls the blankets over them. Soon, they both fall asleep; Cherry with a soft smile on her face, and Porky with a crooked pig grin.

* * *

**Please review! Thank you!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	4. A Pig at School

The next morning Cherry wakes up to Porky licking her cheek. She smiles fondly at him and pats his little head. He was still little, he was supposed to get about twenty ounces bigger, but he was the runt of the litter and he stayed fairly small.

Cherry stretches her arms over her head and then her legs. Porky does the downward dog pose as his stretch and then he sneezes, making Cherry smile and giggle softly.

"Well, I guess we better go down for breakfast," Cherry yawns and picks Porky up. She slips out of bed and slowly walks down the hallway and then down the stairs.

She trudges into the kitchen where her mom stands, leaning over the oven cooking fried eggs.

"Morning," Cherry says. She puts Porky down and grabs a glass from the cabinet. She fills the glass with orange juice and sits down.

"Morning sweetie," Her mom replies glancing at them.

"Did you sleep well?" Cherry asks.

"Yes, did you and Porky sleep well?"

"Yeah. We even stretched together this morning," Cherry smiles.

Her mom nods and flips an egg, but it slips off of the spatula and onto the floor. Porky rushes over and eats the egg quickly.

"Do you need help with cooking? I could do it," Cherry offers.

"If you insist then sure," Her mom hands Cherry the spatula and sits down at the table.

"I didn't insist," A smile creeps its way onto Cherry's face.

"Yes you did! Just make breakfast. Please?"

"Fine,"

Cherry grabs four eggs and cracks them into the pan. She lets them sit for a few moments then she flips them like a pro. She lets them sit for a while before she flips them again just to be safe and soon serves breakfast. Cherry eats her two eggs happily. Her mom downs her food then stands and washes her plate. She walks down the hall and into her room. Five minutes later she comes back out in heels, a business suit, a pearl necklace and her hair is up in a bun.

"Mom where are you going dressed like that?" Cherry asks.

"I have a business interview in an hour. Now go get ready so you aren't late to school," Her mom ushers her upstairs, Porky trails after them.

"But I thought that you were supposed to do the interview yesterday?"

"Ah, well they had to reschedule; the person who was supposed to interview me was really sick and highly contagious so they had to get another person to do it, but they couldn't do it until today,"

"Okay, I just hope you aren't interviewing for a desk job, because you will fail epically," Cherry jokes as she stands at the top of the stairs.

"Don't worry. It's not that,"

"Then what is it?"

"Remember, I am applying to be a baby nurse!"

"Oh right!"

"Just go get ready and stop stalling!"

"Fine," Cherry sighs and walks into her bathroom.

She undoes her braid and combs through it. Cherry then braids her hair into another long braid that tumbles down her back and to her waist. She then puts it up into a twisted bun. Cherry smiles at herself and then brushes her teeth and washes her face. She walks out of the bathroom with Porky trailing her silently. She goes into her closet and pulls out her dress and tugs it on. Then she puts on laced socks and slips into her heels. Cherry grimaces at the feel but deals with it.

She grabs her bag and takes one last look in the mirror. She licks her finger and pulls a strand of hair out of her bun, it flows out and lands on her face, she smiles. Soon she walks downstairs. Her mother straightens her business suit and then grins. She marches out the door and to their shiny black car that was fixed and washed yesterday.

Cherry shakes her head and walks out of the door, then turns and locks it. She walks over to the car and gets into the passenger's seat. They take off down the road to Ouran.

Cherry gets out of the car and walks away. Her mom calls after her.

"Have a good day at school Cherry!"

"Kay! Good luck at your interview! You're going to need it with your terrible history of applying for jobs!" Cherry yells back.

"Okay! Thanks! Bye!" her mom speeds off.

Cherry smiles and walks to the double doors. She hears a noise inside her bag. She looks inside her bag and sees Porky.

"Oh my gosh! Porky, what are you doing in my bag?!" Cherry squeals, she lifts him out of her black bag and twirls around.

He snorts and nods his head twice.

"I see, you snuck into my bag huh? That was a bad thing to do. But since mom isn't here then you get to spend the day with me!" Cherry laughs and hugs him tightly to her chest. He snorts again in agreement.

"Hey Cherry! How are you- why do you have a pig?" Lily asks as she bounds up to the two.

"Lily. This is Porky, my miniature pet pig," Cherry introduces Lily.

"Oh, hi Porky," Lily pets Porky's head happily, "So why did you bring him to school? You know pets aren't allowed," Lily beams.

"I know. But Porky snuck into my bag and my mom left before I could give him to her. So he has to spend the day with me," Cherry grins.

"Cool!" Lily grins back at her and they walk to the front doors of their school.

Upon walking into their first class, whispers erupted about Cherry's pig. Mrs. Necterline walks over to them with a hint of a smile on her face. Her nose is scrunched up a bit, making her white glasses ride up her face.

"Mrs. Necterline. Since when did you have glasses?" Cherry asks.

"I got them yesterday after school. My eye doctor said that I need them so I don't strain my eyes any more than I do now," Mrs. Necterline sighs.

"Oh. Well, they look good. Oh and by the way, this is Porky. He snuck into my bag this morning and my mom left before I could give him to her,"

"I see, and thank you. But I think you will need to put him in the office, they will take good care of him until you can pick him up after classes," Mrs. Necterline smiles.

"Um, you see, whenever I have him with me, I get more confident and can ignore my fear for the most part. So, I am going to keep him with me. But don't worry! I promise you he won't be loud. He is trained to be quiet when I tell him to," Cherry says.

"If you say so. I'm going on your word that he will be silent," Mrs. Necterline sighs but smiles.

"Okay! I won't let you down, promise," Cherry smiles; she and Lily sit down at their seats while Mrs. Necterline walks back to her desk.

Cherry pokes Porky's nose and he snorts before going quiet. She smiles and sets him down into her bag that she leaves open; soon class starts.

* * *

After school, Lily and Cherry walk down the hallways with Porky trailing after them. He snorts or squeals every once in a while to make them slow down so he can keep up as he trots next to Cherry. Lily will jump and start laughing every time he does that.

They make their way down the halls to Music room 3, Lily leading the way with Cherry following her.

"Hey, Cherry?" Lily calls suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Did, like after school yesterday, did Princess attack you?"

"No. She was going to, but then we started talking instead. I got her to change her mind and she got a change of heart as well," Cherry replies.

"A change of heart? Her? You have got to be kidding me!" Lily says loudly, turning around and facing Cherry, she walks backwards.

"I'm serious. You just have to give people a second chance and you never know. They might even surprise you," Cherry shrugs.

"Wow. I still don't believe you, at least until I see it," Lily rolls her violet eyes and turns to walk forwards.

"Whatever," Cherry sighs.

"Hey," A soft voice calls after them.

Cherry and Lily turn and look behind them. Princess stands awkwardly near a wall hidden halfway behind a corner.

"Hey Princess. How are you doing?" Cherry says.

"I'm doing okay. How are you?"

"I'm good,"

"That's good," Princess glances at Lily who glares at her. Cherry sees this and sighs.

"Princess, I think you might have something you want to say, to Lily," Cherry says.

"Oh. Um, sure," Princess timidly walks over to them and stands in front of Lily. She looks her straight in the eyes and keeps eye contact as she speaks, "Lily, I am terribly sorry for the way I behaved. I was just upset because I was banned from the Host Club, and I spent all my time there when it opened. I guess, I haven't been very nice since I was banned, and even while I was attending it. And I'm sorry for scaring you into hyperventilating. I didn't mean to scare you that badly. Can you, forgive me? Or at least give me a second chance?"

"I, um. Wow. I never thought I would see the day when you, Iana Koji, apologized to someone. Especially me. So I guess, sure. I forgive you," Lily smiles at her.

"Really?! Oh thank you so much!" Princess smiles and hugs Lily tightly.

"Yeah," Lily giggles and hugs her back.

"So now we just need to get Princess back into the Host Club!" Cherry exclaims, her fist moves into the air.

"Yeah!" Lily exclaims loudly, pumping her fist into the air too.

"Yay!" Princess giggles and pumps her fist in the air, creating a small circle of fists.

"As long as you promise to be nice to everyone and never, ever, do something like that again! Got it?" Lily sends Princess a stern look.

She nods feverishly in agreement.

"Come on, we need to get going so we aren't _too_ incredibly late," Cherry says.

"Okay!" Lily exclaims happily.

Princess nods and they head off towards Music room 3. Porky runs after them with his little legs struggling to keep the pace. Soon they arrive in front of the Host Club's room. Cherry picks Porky up and holds him close to her chest. She takes a deep breath and Lily opens the doors. Rose petals float out of the room making Porky sneeze.

The three girls laugh.

"Welcome to the Host Club!" seven voices echo in the huge room.

Cherry gags at this, making Lily giggle at her. Suddenly they all hear three loud voices yelling at them, luckily they are the first people and the other guests won't arrive for about ten minutes.

"What is she doing here?!" Tamaki and the twins yell.

"She is coming here to apologize," Lily says calmly; she tucks a strand of silver hair behind her ear.

"Her, apologize? Yeah right!" the twins yell.

"She has never apologized to anyone before! Not even her best friends!" Tamaki yells, pointing an accusing finger at Princess, who hides behind Cherry and Lily. "She was banned from this place and she knows it! She is never allowed back! You got that? So get out!"

Princess whimpers and takes a step backwards to turn and run but Cherry and Lily grab her hands and hold her there.

Cherry takes a deep shaky breath and walks over to Tamaki and the twins. She slaps Tamaki across the face and kicks the twin's shins very hard. The two double over with tears in their eyes. Tamaki looks hurt both physically and in his pride. Lily's and Haruhi's eyes widen a lot at this. They quickly glance at each other then they both burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you actually hit him!" Haruhi laughs.

"I know! I think it's because she has Pork with her," Lily exclaims.

It gets awkwardly quiet after Lily says this.

"What? Pork is her pet pig," Lily says.

Porky oinks to prove her point.

"Oh…" they all sigh.

"And his name is Porky not Pork. Now to the issues at hand. You, need to shut the heck up and listen to what I have to say. And you two get over yourselves, it didn't hurt that much," Cherry deadpans.

"I think you broke our shins!" the twins cry.

"No I didn't you would have heard a crack, there wasn't one, now stand and man up," Cherry rolls her eyes at them.

"I don't think I've ever heard her talk before Takashi," Honey says.

"We haven't," Takashi mumbles.

"Well this is interesting. Cherry, would you mind telling me why your records are completely blank?" Kyoya asks suddenly.

"NO! All of you just shut up! I am trying to make a point here!" Cherry yells at them.

They zip their lips close and watch her, partially in shock.

"Thank you. Now, Princess is here to apologize and you better let her talk," Cherry glares at them while crushing Porky to her. Porky snorts and she loosens her grip.

"Thank you Cherry," Princess mumbles sadly, "Haruhi. I am so very sorry that I accused you of sexual harassment. I shouldn't have and now I am banned from this wonderful place because of it. Can you ever forgive me?"

Haruhi blinks before she clears her throat.

"Thank you for apologizing to me, and yes I can forgive you. But you need to apologize to everybody else here first before I do," Haruhi says.

"Thank you! Everybody, I am terribly sorry for any and all trouble I might have caused you all. I didn't think I was being as rude as I actually was. Can you all ever forgive me?" Princess asks.

"I forgive you!" Honey exclaims running to her and jumping onto her to hug her.

"I guess I forgive you," Takashi says deeply.

"I suppose if it will have the best benefit in the long run," Kyoya says; he pushes his glasses up his nose as he says this.

"Sure, why not?" The twins shrug and stand up from their sitting positions.

"I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did to Haruhi," Tamaki says harshly.

"I guess that settles it. I forgive you Princess," Haruhi says with a bright smile, "As long as you don't ever do anything like that again. And you have to pay 10 yen every time you come here until you pay off the tea set that you made me break,"

"What? But Tamaki didn't forgive me," Princess says.

"His opinion doesn't count at the moment. Just be sure to give him good business and he'll be wrapped around your finger again in no time. Plus when all the girls arrive and are watching, he can't do anything without it ruining his reputation," Haruhi beams.

"Very smart Haruhi," Kyoya says with a smirk.

"Thank you,"

"My opinion doesn't count?" Tamaki asks gloomily. He shrinks into his corner and pouts.

"Oh thank you all so much! I will never do anything like that ever again! I promise you!" Princess exclaims while clapping her pale hands.

"Now we should get started, the ladies will be here any second," The twins say.

"What? But we are ladies!" Lily and Princess shriek.

"Ah ha, you see that's not what we meant to say," The twins say awkwardly.

"Then what did you mean to say?!" they yell while cracking their knuckles harshly.

"Choose your next words wisely," Cherry and Haruhi say in synch.

"We meant the other ladies!" Hikaru yelps.

"Yeah!" Karou says.

"Oh, ok!" Lily laughs and twirls around, her yellow dress spins about her as she dances her way to her regular table with the twins.

"You know Haruhi. You are super lucky you don't have to wear this ridiculous yellow dress," Cherry comments randomly.

"I know right. Well come on then Cherry; do you want to hang out with me or the twins today?" Haruhi replies.

"Twins, I still need to get used to them," Cherry says.

"Okay. Does having your pig with you help with your fear?" Haruhi asks.

"Yeah because I got him after me and my mom left dad," Cherry says.

"Ah. Okay well see you later!" Haruhi exclaims.

"'Kay!" Cherry smiles at her and walks over to the where Lily sits.

"Hey, Cherry. You never answered my question," Kyoya calls.

"Oh what was it again?"

"Why are all your records blank?" Kyoya asks.

"Oh that? I deleted them for security reasons, for people like you who hack into them to look up people. And other reasons," Cherry mumbles the last part but Kyoya hears it, just barely.

"Oh I see. Well that was smart and idiotic of you,"

"Humph! Like you would know the other reasons why I deleted it! People are after me and my mother so in order to escape I had to make it seem like we died. And look up my account again," Cherry says.

"Here,"

"Thanks. See the tiny writing in the bottom right hand corner?"

"Yes,"

"Read it,"

"Cherry Quake died at age fifteen from food poisoning," Kyoya says quietly.

"Yep! I did get sick and the doctors sent me home, but they didn't think I was that ill. So, I made it look like I died. I ended up almost dying, but then my mom found out I just needed to gag up some food poisoning. Great how that worked out huh?" Cherry grins and Porky snorts.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. But why would you want to make it look like you died?" Kyoya asks.

"Because, I already told you! Now I must go, goodbye," Cherry turns around and walks over to Lily.

"But wait!" Kyoya lifts his hand and Cherry flinches involuntarily.

"...What?" Cherry asks after she fails to cover her reflex.

"But, I do say that it is stupid of you to not retain different names seeing as if someone looked and saw this but looked up your school record then they would see you were still alive…"

Cherry pales considerably, "You're right. I'll need to talk to my mom about that as soon as I get home..."

Quickly she turns back and walks straight to her seat next to Lily.

"What got you so worked up?" Lily asks giggling as Cherry sits down with a huff.

"Kyoya and all his questions concerning my records. He needs to mind his own business!" Cherry says loudly, suddenly she adds in a low whisper, "And he made a great comment that will cost me and my mom dearly if we don't do something soon,"

The twins snicker at her loud comment and the girls at the table gasp in shock that she actually talked. Meanwhile Lily silently wonders what she meant.

"You talked! I've never heard you speak before! This is amazing!" a girl with long black hair and straight bangs exclaims.

"She has a pig with her!" another girl screams.

All of a sudden all of the girls in the room start to scream at the top of their lungs.

"What? He is just my pet pig. It's not a big deal!" Cherry shouts at them.

"Ah! A gross little pig!"

"Get it away from me!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Ah!"

The thirty or so girls flee the room screaming and yelling very loudly with Princess following them closely. After they leave the room, the Hosts turn and glare at Cherry.

"Why did you bring a pig with you? Why couldn't it be a cute little dog or something? Instead you got a farm animal," Tamaki says. Some of the Hosts shudder at this.

"He is my pig, and you guys can't do anything about it. I brought him here because he snuck into my bag this morning and I couldn't bring him home without being really late. So I brought him to classes and I came here right afterwards! Gosh! What is it with girls and their fright of gross things? He is not gross because he got a bath two days ago! Plus you already knew he was here! I talked and held him at the same time!" Cherry bellows at them.

Haruhi shakes her head and starts laughing. Lily starts laughing too; she clutches her stomach as she falls to the ground.

"What? What's so funny?" Cherry asks.

"You! Y-y-you just… that is just… so funny!" Haruhi laughs.

"How is that funny? She brought a pig here and scared off all our guests!" Hikaru yells.

"I know! But she isn't scared of you guys because she brought a pig to school! And you are getting all mad at her when she talked to you guys for the first time!" Lily shouts, standing up and glaring at them, suddenly halting her own laughter. She wipes her dress off and points a finger at them accusingly.

"Wha? But… sh-she… you," Kaoru gapes at Lily.

"Get a hold of yourselves here! She talked to you for the first time and the first thing you do is yell at her? I am so ashamed of you," Lily turns her head to the side and crosses her arms, pouting cutely.

Kyoya clears his throat and gets their attention, "She made us lose business for today, so we have a right to be mad at her,"

"Whatever! You still have me and Cherry! You guys are such idiots sometimes!" Lily fumes. Her face gets red with anger.

"She is right. We do still have them," Honey says, shaking his head at his fellow Hosts sadly.

"Maybe we could make her pig pay too!" Tamaki exclaims after a moment of silence.

"No. I am not going to make Porky pay, he doesn't even have hands! How is he supposed to carry money around?" Cherry says.

Hikaru and Kaoru begin laughing at this.

"You can't make a pig pay boss! That just doesn't seem right!" Kaoru gasps.

"'he doesn't even have hands!' that is priceless! But could you even imagine a pig with hands?!" Hikaru laughs.

Cherry smiles and starts laughing too. Lily and Haruhi giggle, which soon turns into full out laughter. Honey grins and laughs loudly too, he rolls around on the floor. Takashi chuckles quietly and Kyoya chuckles too, which turns into a deep laugh. Tamaki looks at them innocently and tilts his head to the side.

"What is so funny? I don't get it," Tamaki questions.

This causes them to all laugh harder. Lily starts to cry as she clutches her stomach. Haruhi laughs so hard that tears pour from her eyes. Cherry gasps for air as she clutches her stomach, she makes a weird noise that makes her laugh harder still. Hikaru and Kaoru sit on the floor laughing and banging their fists into the floor, trying to make themselves stop laughing, it only makes them cry and laugh though. Tamaki shrugs and starts to laugh too, but because he doesn't really know why he is laughing it isn't a real laugh.

They laugh for five more minutes before they are all gasping for breath. Their faces are a deep red and Cherry's face matches her hair. Once they all catch their breaths Hikaru speaks.

"So uh, why were we laughing again?"

"I don't remember…" Kaoru admits.

"Something about Cherry's pig and money," Kyoya says.

"Oh yeah. That was really funny," The twins snicker.

"So what are you guys going to do now? Your guests are gone, and only we are here…" Lily asks.

"I don't know. We could all go home,"

"But then you would leave two guests unhappy!" Honey exclaims.

"I think all that laughing made up for it," Cherry says.

"Yeah, we will be fine. You guys can go home for the day," Lily smiles sweetly at them all.

"Okay. Thanks you guys!" Tamaki says as he walks quickly to the door.

The door closes behind him with a slam that makes the room shudder.

"Yikes. Where is he off to?" Haruhi asks.

"Probably to see his mother. She has been sick and she recently moved in with Tamaki," Kyoya says.

"Oh,"

"Come on Takashi! We should go practice for our Kendo match that is coming up this weekend!" Honey exclaims.

"Hn,"

With that, the two leave, in a much quieter fashion than Tamaki. Kyoya pushes his glasses up his nose and walks out of the room without a word. The twins grin and start to tease Haruhi. They ruffle her hair after a few minutes and wave behind them as they leave.

"So, I need to go home I guess. Bye Lily! Bye Haruhi!" Cherry grins at them and gives them both a hug before she picks up Porky, who was recently eating cake that he found on the ground, and walks out of the room.

Cherry walks down the hallways and soon makes it to the entrance hall. She steps outside and breathes in the fresh air and enjoys the sun shining warmth onto her face. Porky snorts as he enjoys the sun too. Cherry smiles and begins walking home with Porky held in her arms tightly.

* * *

**Sorry that this is sort of short too, but the best chapter, I think, is next, it gets the story going so be sure to read it! Thank you for reading and please review, especially if you like it! Thanks!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	5. Found

Cherry walks home with Porky held snug in her arms as a cool breeze drifts by them. The sun casts a warm glow onto their bodies as Cherry walks down the sidewalk. Her black school bag softly hits the side of her leg as she walks. Her pale yellow dress blows against her legs as another harsher breeze blows past them.

The wind causes some of her red hair to fall out of the bun but the wind blows it out of her face for a moment before it stops; making the strands of hair fall into her eyes. Porky snorts loudly making Cherry smile slightly. Cherry's heels click softly as she walks with light steps towards her house.

"Cherry wait! I forgot to give you something!" Lily calls out behind her.

Cherry looks over her shoulder to see Lily running after her, flapping a slip of paper with ink on it.

"What is this?" Cherry asks as Lily finally stands in front of her.

"My cell phone number and Haruhi's too. If you ever get lonely or need anything, then you can call either of us. Just so you know. Now I have to go, a storm is heading this way!" Lily hands Cherry the paper and runs off back to the school.

Cherry grins and looks at the numbers. One is neat and small; the other is not so neat, and not so small. A deep rumble some distance behind them makes Cherry sigh.

"More rain again. Oh well, come on Porky we should get home soon then huh? And from the wind and stuff, I bet you that it's going to be a big storm," Cherry says quietly. Porky looks up and oinks in concern.

Cherry looks up too to see the sun being blocked by huge black clouds. The wind picks up again this time getting stronger each minute instead of just dying off. A large gust of cold wind blows Cherry's hair into her face, more falls from her bun, and makes her bag flap wildly against her leg, straining in her tight grasp.

Suddenly a loud rumble of thunder sounds just above their heads and rain begins to pelt down on them. Porky oinks in alarm and struggles in Cherry's grip making her tighten her hold on both him and her soaking wet bag. Cherry begins to run home, her heels click loudly as puddles rapidly flood the streets and the sidewalk.

Porky shrieks as lightning hits an electric cord, causing all the lights in the city to black out. Cherry begins to slightly panic as freezing cold water pelts down hard on her skin, making her shiver and her arms and legs begin to go numb. Cherry shields Porky from the rain with her upper body. She makes a mad dash down the road. Suddenly she rams into someone knocking the breath out of Cherry, but Porky doesn't make a sound. Cherry looks up and lightning flashes, causing an eerie shadow to cast over his face.

Cherry's green eyes widen in fright and she backs away from him quickly. The man is tall, 6 feet 5 inches with blazing bright red hair and piercing black eyes that are so black you can't tell the iris apart from the pupil. Cherry gulps as he looks at her, his eyes scan her over before he grins like a maniac. His long sickly pale arm reaches out to grab her, but Cherry runs away. Sadly not before he gets a chance to skim her pale arm with his scratchy nail leaving a red mark.

Cherry sprints down the sidewalk to her house with her eyes as big as saucers and her legs burning. Her breath comes out rapidly and ragged, like she had been running for miles without rest. Her red hair whips her cheeks as she runs as fast as her long legs can carry her.

Porky finally shrieks as they hear footsteps following them. Cherry picks up her pace until they lose sight of him and can only barely hear his feet. In thirty seconds Cherry makes it to her house. She races around back and fumbles with her keys. After a bit she sticks the key in the lock and turns it, her hands shaking so badly that it barely turns.

Cherry runs inside and slams the door close, only barely locking it behind her before she yells for her mom, panicking and hyperventilating. Her mom rushes downstairs after Cherry yells her name twice.

"What happened Cherry?" her mom asks worriedly.

"He is here, in town. He followed me! We have to run!" Cherry manages to gasp out quickly.

"_He_ is here?" her mom's eyes go wide.

Cherry nods numbly, her head spins and her stomachs twists and turns, threatening to make her lunch come spilling out onto the floor. Her mom gasps and runs to the kitchen. Cherry follows her quickly. Her mom opens all the cupboards and then opens all the drawers, frantically searching for something in the dark.

Finally she grabs a newly sharpened knife, a loaded handgun and a holster. Her mom ties the holster around her hip haphazardly before flipping the gun into it and the knife on the other side of the holster. Cherry watches her mom run around the house grabbing a couple things like journals and personal records.

"Get the safe!" her mom shouts.

Cherry puts Porky down and rushes upstairs so fast that she trips three times before making it to the top. She runs into the bathroom and pulls out a silver case with a lock on it. Cherry pulls it out and runs to her room where she then grabs her favorite and only necklace with a key and a locket on it. The key is to the safe, her mom has the other one, and the locket has a picture of her mom and her then a picture of Porky and her.

Cherry gasps as she hears their front door being knocked on roughly. Only one person has hands and fists so large and fierce that the door they knock on, even if only barely using their strength, tends to crack. Cherry's eyes widen even more and she quickly grabs her journal, favorite book, her cell phone and a few other things. She runs downstairs and picks Porky up off the floor quickly before her mother meets her and they run out the back door.

Her mother doesn't even bother locking the door; she just closes it very quietly. Cherry takes her shoes off and her mother does too; they hold them by the heels so tightly their knuckles turn white. They then run swiftly yet silently through their small backyard.

They run and then stop by the gate that leads to the side of their house. They listen quietly, scarcely breathing, before they hear their front door being broken down and a deep yell erupting from the man. With that, they sprint out the gate, past the side of their house, and then onto the sidewalk.

Her mom begins to get angry, or scared, as they run to the car, only to see the new car has smashed in windows, popped tires, a huge dent in the side of all the doors, and the hood of it is broken off and the engine is cracked and steaming. Cherry whimpers as they hear another yell then laughter.

They quickly run down the sidewalk, their bare feet splash in puddles and begin to go numb. Porky stays quiet like a good little pig and Cherry pets his head soothingly every once in a while. Suddenly Cherry's mom yelps and cries out in pain.

Cherry looks behind her to see the tall man laughing evilly while holding her mother's arm tightly at a sharp angle.

"I finally found you," The man grins; half of his teeth are missing and his breath reeks of alcohol, "I can finally finish what I started,"

Cherry shakes her head as tears pool into her eyes. Her mother cries out again and gasps as his large hand slaps the side of her face. Porky shrieks suddenly at this and Cherry yells at the man.

"How dare you lay a hand on her?! She never did anything wrong! You need to let her go right now!" Cherry yells as loud as she can, hoping that someone hears. But the wind blows and her voice is muted.

"Ha! I don't think so Cherry. Be a dear and shut up for once. I never wanted y-"

"Shut up! You be quiet and let her go! Now! Before I call the police!" Cherry bellows in rage and fright.

The man drops her mother to the ground and walks towards her instead. Cherry's eyes widen before she sees her mom grab the gun. Cherry smirks and looks up at the man that towers over her. The man grins maniacally down at her as he takes another step forward.

Cherry grins and kicks him where the sun doesn't shine, but he doesn't even flinch; either he is numb, or there is something protecting that place.

"For a girl, you are pathetic," The man leers.

Cherry begins feeling terrified as the man grabs the gun seconds before her mother has a chance to shoot. He twists the arm of Cherry's mom who screams in agony, and drops the gun; it slides over to the man's feet and he glances down at it. He picks it up and turns it in his hand as he leans down and picks up the knife which was in the holster. Without warning the knife slices Cherry's cheek. Blood gushes out of it before he even takes the knife away, and then he takes aim and fires two shots at her mother who screams when the bullets are lodged into her leg and stomach.

Cherry screams and moves to step forward, but freezes when he suddenly turns and aims the gun at her head. Porky cowers in her arms and she backs away slowly.

"Don't move another step, or I'll shoot you," his voice is low and tears spill out of Cherry's eyes before she can stop them.

They stare at each other for a while as Cherry wonders what to do to get her mother away as well as herself and Porky. So, she acts without thinking as she opens her mouth, tilting her head back slightly and shutting her eyes tightly.

Cherry screams shrilly, but it does nothing to help seeing as the man only flinches in surprise, then lunges forward. The thunder bellows in rage and lightning flashes nearby as she is grabbed by her throat and lifted off the ground. Her mother struggles to her feet then moves slowly towards them.

"Don't hurt her!" she yells but it soon dies out as she's hit hard across the skull, knocking her out immediately.

Cherry's eyes bulge, her arms free, having released Porky in surprise, and desperately she claws at his arms with her nails, drawing blood quickly. Her feet and legs kick out in a panic yet she is unable to reach him. Her mind begins to go blank as the lack of oxygen becomes too much to handle; her face turns red, then blue, then purple and with the last bit of her strength, she struggles relentlessly, trying hard to get free. He laughs harshly, startling Cherry into freezing as his breath glides over the back of her neck. Suddenly a battle cry sounds out, but Cherry doesn't hear it as the world around her fades.

A blur of blonde and black flash past Cherry's head, smacking into the man's head; he stumbles backward, but not before he punches her in the back of the head. She falls forward as the man stumbles back; someone catches her seconds before she hits the cement. Her vision and senses are fuzzy and dull, so she doesn't notice the face that appears above her, but she picks up bits and pieces of sounds as she gasps for air.

"How dar-...I hat-... like you! Get hi-!" a jumble of sounds fill her ears before she passes out from the overwhelming loudness.

"Hey, Cherry! No, don't pass out... Wake up, wake up." Kaoru mumbles when he notices her eyes closing. Her irises move rapidly and her pupils constrict until her eyes close shut.

Haruhi and Lily rush over to the two; Kaoru kneels over Cherry's fallen form as she is splayed out on the ground, though he holds her close to his chest. Lily and Haruhi kneel next to them and quickly check her pulse to make sure that the blow to her head didn't kill her. Kaoru watches them intently and when he sees them sag in relief, he relaxes slightly.

"She's okay then?" he asks softly but loudly so they can hear him over the rain, thunder, and fighting going on.

"Yes, but we should move her quickly, along with her mom. Lily and I will go and take care of her mom. Hurry and take her somewhere away from here, now!" Haruhi yells over the noise.

Kaoru nods and picks her up then runs away from the scene of violence. Hikaru, Tamaki, Kyoya, Mori, and Honey stay behind and manage, somehow, to knock the large man off his feet then pound him to the ground, beating him to a bloody pulp rather quickly. They punch and kick him until he finally breathes a deep breath, once he lets it out it doesn't return.

Kyoya calls the police and an ambulance for the two then hangs up. They walk to where they saw their friends leave, in an alleyway while Kyoya stays with the man until his family's private police force arrives. Tamaki, Honey, Mori and Hikaru walk into the alleyway only to stumble upon a startling scene.

Cherry and her mother are both covered in blood, though mostly their upper torsos and heads. Kaoru kneels over Cherry while Haruhi and Lily check over her mother. Porky nuzzles Cherry roughly, trying to wake her but she doesn't budge. Hikaru runs over to Kaoru and kneels next to him.

"What happened?"

Kaoru looks up and quickly blinks making Hikaru hug him tightly.

Haruhi looks up, "They need to go to the hospital, now. I fear that her mom won't make it if they don't arrive soon, she's going to bleed out very quickly with her stomach wound,"

Just as she says that the ambulance pulls up. The group of teens quickly move away and Lily grabs Porky, holding him tightly as Cherry is picked up and put onto a stretcher. He squeals in protest and she tightens her gentle hold on him so he doesn't wiggle out of her grasp. They follow the medics to the ambulance where they are told they must travel to the hospital on their own seeing as the ambulance is filled with both patients.

Quickly they nod and make their way to a limo that was parked hastily a few blocks down the road. As the Host Club gets in the ambulance, Lily squeezes in the back next to Haruhi and buckles quickly; the limo follows the ambulance to the hospital where they are forced to wait in the waiting room.

Silence consumes them as they sit near each other, waiting impatiently for a doctor to come out and update them on the two's conditions. Porky soon settles down in Lily's lap and buries his head between her arm and side. After a while Kyoya walks into the waiting room and moves over to them.

"The man is now in jail; he shouldn't be able to escape at all so we don't have to worry," he speaks calmly.

Multiple sighs of relief sound until Honey asks, "Who was that man who attacked them?"

"I took the liberty to look him up; he is Cherry's father,"

"What?!" The twins stand up quickly.

"He is her biological father, but he seems to have a record of raping many other women, so Cherry has multiple half-siblings. His name though, is Eric Quake and he married her mother a few years after Cherry was born, only to leave her after he accused her of having an affair with someone,"

"Like he's one to talk!" Hikaru and Kaoru bark.

"Actually, he didn't start raping others until after they divorced. That is when he came back and kidnapped them by locking them in his basement. He brutally beat both of them until either he grew tired or they passed out. He was found to have kept other women down there, but he didn't beat them. It was his way of 'returning the favor' for her affair,"

"How did they get here?" Honey asks sadly.

"It doesn't say, only that he was arrested after the women escaped and called the police on him,"

Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, and Lily have a silent understanding of why she doesn't like men, specifically her father, but not in general.

Haruhi lets out a sigh, "Is that all?"

"For now yes, but I think we will have to get some of the answers from her," they nod in agreement but decide to wait until a while after she and her mother are released from the hospital.

Soon the clock strikes midnight and still no word from the doctors. They drift in and out of anxious slumber, waking up startled from sleep by nightmares of what happened. By the next morning they are sound asleep when the tired doctors come out to report what happened. A tall man walks into the room, surprised they are still there and starts when Porky snorts loudly, awaking the others. He coughs into his fist.

"Good morning. I am terribly sorry for the late report but we couldn't send anyone out. The older woman, Cherry's mother I assume, had to go into immediate surgery for her injuries, they were very serious-"

"Is she alright?!"

"Yes she is doing fine now. She is stable and should awake by tomorrow at the latest. Her condition after she awakes though is uncertain; for someone to take such trauma and injuries and come out of it perfectly fine is very rare; I suspect she may lose some memories, but I cannot be certain for it is different with everyone.

"Now for the girl, Cherry, she is in a comma,"

"But will she be okay?" Kaoru asks.

"Maybe, maybe not. I am not certain. Sometimes people never wake from commas but most do, it's just a matter of time. Her injuries however, were fairly minor, a cut to her cheek, and she seems to have been straggled nearly to death, so her voice will be terribly weak and may be permanently damaged. But the blow she took to the head was enough to make it uncertain if she will ever awake. It cracked her skull slightly, but that will heal over time. I can say that she is stable, but it makes no difference to her condition at the moment,"

Once everything settles Lily whispers, "Can we see Cherry?"

The doctor nods and motions for them to follow. They walk down a long hallway then turn towards a door marked 124; the doctor opens it and ushers them in, pausing only to warn them to be quiet when they enter. They walk into the room and see her red hair first. They fan out around her bed and watch her for a while in silence until a nurse with black hair walks quickly into the room with a small smile.

"The girl's mother is awake if you want to see her. She is in the room next door," then she walks out.

Kyoya excuses himself and walks into the next room after knocking twice. Her mother lies tiredly in bed and blinks at him rapidly before realization dawns on her face as a nurse hurries around the room, checking her vitals and condition.

"Kyoya? What are you doing here?" the woman asks.

"I came to see you from the room over. How are you feeling?"

"I feel sore and hurt all over. How are you?"

"I am well, thank you. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Her face twists and darkens, "Of course I remember what happened last night. He came back and attacked me and Ch- where is Cherry?!"

"She is next door. She is in a comma, but she is stable and looks fine,"

"I must see her for myself! Let me go see her!" she tries to sit up but the nurse pushes her back down into a laying position and gives Kyoya a harsh glare until she notices who he is. Her face blushes brilliantly and she mutters, "Sorry. But you really shouldn't come in here and say such things! She just woke up and needs to properly recover. Will you please leave, now?"

Kyoya bows and gives the woman a nod then leaves the room. Tamaki meets him in the hallway looking concerned.

"How is she?"

"She remembers everything as far as I can tell, and she is up and well. She will recover fine,"

"That's good," Tamaki sighs in relief.

"Has Cherry waken?"

"No, I don't think she will for a while though,"

"I see,"

They stand for a while in silence then return to Cherry's room to wait. The group of teens come and go, passing through both rooms until their families force them to go to school on Monday. A week passes and nothing changes except for Cherry's mother is permitted to leave and go home; she does but comes and visits Cherry's room often.

Finally on the second Thursday of Cherry's admission to the hospital, her mother gets a call from the hospital. After she processes the information, the phone slips from her hand and she cries.


	6. The Old Hotel

Cherry's mother rushes as quickly as she can to the hospital, though she is forced to ride a bus since her car was wrecked beyond repair. The second she bursts out of the bus she runs to the entrance of the busy hospital and slips past people until she makes it to the front desk where she signs in and is guided to her daughter's room.

She walks into the room and cries in relief, running to hug her stunned child who sits up in bed. As she hugs Cherry she mumbles in her ear.

"Thank you for waking up! I thought you might not ever wake up! Thank you, thank you!" she pulls her back to arm's length then asks her very seriously, "Do you remember who I am?"

"Of course, you are my mom,"

"Don't worry madam, we already checked her brain in a CAT scan; she remembers everything,"

"Oh thank goodness!" her mother cries and hugs her again tightly.

"Can you give us a moment please?" Cherry looks up at the doctor who nods and leaves silently.

"Mom,"

"Yes?"

"We need to change our identities and move somewhere, where he can't find us. We should change our names and appearance, perhaps our birth dates too-" she is cut off before she can ramble on more.

"Darling I know. Don't worry, I am working with Kyoya to get through to the government and get approval. Then once we do, we will move and change everything. How we look, our names and date of births, and anything else we should change to get away from him. Don't worry either, he is in jail under the top security; he won't be escaping anytime soon,"

Cherry sighs but shakes her head.

"Where are we going to move too? Our safe only has a couple thousand yen in it and it's not even close to enough to buy a new house or rent an apartment out... wait!" Cherry exclaims as an idea pops into her head.

"What is it?"

"I know what we could do!"

"And that is...?"

"Oh, sorry; we could go and 'move' into a hotel, preferably one that is nice and has security..."

"Hmm... I suppose that is a good idea, especially if the place has security guards to help protect us further when he does escape from jail,"

Cherry grins and nods in agreement.

"I'll start looking around town for a cheap hotel that has security. Shouldn't be too hard since the neighborhood is pretty rich..."

Her mom taps her chin in thought before turning back to Cherry with a grin.

"So, before I forget, what do you want your new name to be?"

"Do you know what our last name is going to be?"

"Yes actually! It's Oakenbur."

"... What a very peculiar name..."

"But of course! Our last name has to be cool sounding, doesn't it?"

"Sure..." Cherry hides a grin at her mother's silliness.

"Glad you agree!"

"But you do realize that it was originally a gazette from Emporia right?"

Her mother casts her a look, "Well no, I didn't know that..."

"It could cause an uproar within certain... places..."

"Doesn't matter now! What do you want your name to be?"

Cherry sighs, "... How about Cecilia?"

"Are you sure? The origin of the name means blind..."

"Yes I'm sure. Have you chosen your name yet?"

"Yep! It is now Ruse!"

"Ruse? Really?" Cherry glances at her mother, whose eyes gleam.

"Why of course!"

"But... mom..."

"Don't worry, I know that it is already a name and means trick!" she whispers, "That's why I chose it, so when people realize what my name means, they'll think I'm tricking them! It will be hilarious!"

Cherry gapes at her mother, rolls her eyes a second later, then laughs. Her mother was definitely something. The nurse walks into the room and apologizes if she interrupted something but then explains.

"Madam, Cherry needs to rest a bit. She just woke up and needs to further regain her strength so she can leave sooner. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room,"

"But...!"

"Mom just go, this way you can start looking for places to stay sooner, then by the time I get out of here, you can simply take me home!"

Her mom sighs but nods and gives her a tight hug before releasing her and walking out of the room.

"Do have a good rest miss," the nurse bows and leaves the room too.

* * *

Ruse comes back the next day. She sits by Cecilia's bedside, fidgeting nervously. Cecilia sighs and finally turns to face her mother seriously.

"What's wrong?"

Ruse sighs, "Well, I've looked all over town, and I've only found one hotel that was cheap enough for us to stay there for a long while."

"Okay, so what's the big deal?"

"Well... how do I put this...?"

"Mom..."

"Well..."

"Mom..."

"Eh..."

"Mom!"

"I... don't want to..."

"Just get it over with and say it," Cecilia sternly says, much like a mother would to a child.

"Fine," her mother sniffs, "The place is this close," she motions with her thumb and her index finger that the amount is tiny, "to shutting down for good,"

"Why?!" Cecilia asks, alarmed.

"Because, their business has decreased like a heart monitor of a dying person!"

"Which means...?"

"They had a good, steady business, then it wobbled, then decreased steadily at a fast rate, then flat lined. And all because of a simple 'problem' with the insects..."

"Insects? I am guessing that it was a very BIG problem for it to drive all the people away!"

"No, I mean, well that but also the rodents too,"

"Rodents too?!"

"Yeah, like that new big hotel that just opened down the way from here..."

"Oh,"

Her mom sighs again and twiddles her thumbs, obviously having more to say.

"What else is there?" Cecilia asks, looking intently at her mom.

"They also... well I made an agreement with them... sort of..."

"And?" Cecilia states plainly.

"And... we kind of, might of, made a contract saying that if the two of us helped them get their hotel up and running then they would allow us to stay there for free. But the catch was we have to pay for the repairs needed and hire new employees and we can't stay there for free until after they have enough customers to keep a steady business, that way the wages they make must outweigh the money we have to pay them for staying at their hotel as the repairs were made and everything..." she pants once she finishes, for she spoke fast but slow enough so Cecilia could register and understand everything she said.

"You what?" Cecilia asks in a low tone.

"Yes, but I am your mother so don't you dare take that tone of voice we with me young lady!"

Cecilia sighs but nods and looks out the window. Ruse glances at her daughter then out the window too.

"You can get out of here in a few days,"

"I know,"

"Oh, well then..."

They sit in an awkward silence until Ruse is forced to leave; visiting hours are over.

* * *

A few days later Cecilia is released from the hospital; her mother greets her at the entrance to the hospital and they wait for a bus to take them to the hotel they are going to be staying at.

"Where's Porky?" Cecilia asks when she notices the pig's absence.

"Lily is taking care of him for you. Such a sweet girl she is,"

Cecilia nods and allows her mother to board the bus before her. They ride in silence then get off at the designated spot a few blocks from the hotel. The two of them walk quietly towards the place; when they near it and Ruse points it out, Cecilia's jaw drops as many curse words run through her head. Her mom smiles sheepishly and leads her in after she takes in the disaster of the place.

The front door hangs loosely off its hinges and the windows are broken, shattered from the storm a few weeks back. The paint is old and peeling off the building in a scattered mess, making it look ten times worse than it would if the paint was still on the walls. The sign of the hotel is hanging onto the building by a few measly screws, making it dangle dangerously over the sidewalk. But what makes Cecilia cringe is the burned parts of the building where it seems to have been struck multiple times by the lightning produced from the storm.

"What exactly happened to this place?!" Cecilia gasps.

Her mom sighs, "The storm a while back really took its toll on the old thing. It was hit by lightning as you can tell, and started a fire but they were able to put it out before it spread to the lower floors,"

"You mean the fire started on one of the top floors?"

"Yep, and the flooring up there is pretty unstable, brittle even. But you can walk on it as long as you take your time to notice where the darkened spots are, that's where it is the most brittle. The winds shattered the windows that were cracking and beginning to break anyway. And apparently there was hail here the size of baseballs! Can you even imagine that?!"

Cecilia shakes her head slowly and allows her mom to drag her inside quickly. A young boy greets them with a smile on his face.

"Cecilia, this is Liam, the owner's grandson. Liam, this is my daughter, Cecilia."

Liam grins at them and holds out a small hand for Cecilia to shake; she does so after a moment's hesitation before realizing he is only about seven years old. She offers a small smile back and he smiles wider in turn.

"Cecilia! You have to see my fort I made! It's amazing!" Liam laughs.

Cecilia looks at her mom who smiles and shoves her after the boy who laughs and trots off. Cecilia follows him into a living room area that is kept nice and neat; she guesses this is where the small family lives, partially. He turns around and grabs her hand then pulls her after him, further into the room where a large 'fort' of sorts, made from sheets, chairs and bobby-pins, is. He crawls under a small gap between two sheets and when she doesn't follow, he pokes his head out and waves at her to go in.

She gets on her knees and crawls under the entrance of the fort and then inside it. He sits proudly in the middle of it, and she looks about in slight wonderment, for she has never made a fort before. The white sheets make the lighting look odd but makes the fort seem to glow brightly.

"Wow..." she mumbles.

Liam grins when she says that and nods his head excitedly.

"Do you think it is cool or what?" he asks happily.

"This is pretty cool," Cecilia smiles at him.

He laughs in glee and nods his head in agreement. He shuffles over to a pile of stuffed animals.

"And see, I even have an army of stuffed animals ready to protect me from any intruders!"

Cecilia laughs and nods. They play in the fort for a while until Ruse pulls Cecilia away so they can begin working out how to get the place up and running again. Ruse leads them to their room that they are going to share on the first level. Once they are in the room Cecilia takes in the cleanliness of the place.

"Yeah, I worked my butt off cleaning this place up, but you get to help me clean up the other rooms so it will take less time! I am very happy you are here now, so we can work together to get this place up and running in no time. Starting tomorrow we will work on cleaning all the rooms on this floor so we don't have to pay for long. The owners of the hotel allowed us to not have to pay until tomorrow. Isn't that such a relief?"

"Sure..."

"Well it is! I don't know why I asked you since you don't pay any bills or anything..." Ruse mumbled to herself.

Cecilia sighed and opened the window on the far side of the room. She leaned out of it and breathed in a deep breath of fresh air that she welcomed with ease. After being stuck in the hospital for so long she was ready to be out and glad to be back with her mom in a somewhat normal predicament. The only thing missing now was Porky.

"Can Lily come over and help us clean tomorrow too so she can bring Porky back?" Cecilia asks, turning her head slightly so she can see her mother who rummages through her bag of clothing she picked up earlier that week, along with Cecilia's things.

"I suppose, as long as her parents allow it,"

Cecilia nods and turns to look back out the window. After three minutes of gazing out the window in silence, Cecilia hears Ruse talking to her. She turns and looks at her mom who glares at her.

"What?"

"I've been trying to get your attention now for quite some time!" she huffs, calming herself down, "Anyway, you should go take a shower, you reek like the hospital,"

Cecilia silently agrees and grabs a pair of PJ's; a pair of shorts and a t-shirt; then walks into the adjoined bathroom that smells strongly of vinegar that her mother loves to clean with. She wrinkles her nose, not liking the scent, but closes the door, after turning on the fan, and runs warm water. Once the temperature is to her liking she strips and climbs into the tub.

She gets out thirty minutes later and reaches for a towel, only to realize there are none. Sighing she calls out.

"Hey mom! Can you bring me a towel please?"

She waits but hears no response, so she tries again.

"Mom! Bring me a towel!"

The white noise from the fan answers her and she sighs.

"MOM! ARE YOU THERE?!"

Again, no response. Becoming worried she calls out again five more times before giving up and stepping out of the tub. She turns around and turns the water off then steps towards the door, shivering in the cool air. Quietly, she cracks the door open and finds an empty room. She frowns and opens the door more, forgetting about the open window.

She walks into the room and finds a note placed on her bed. Picking it up she reads it; her eyebrow twitches.

'_Hello dear! I am going out for a quick run! Be back in a while! Oh and I realized you had no towel, so I took the liberty of placing one out for you under the sink in the bathroom. Hope you find it. But the smart thing to do would be to get dressed and all before coming out here, the window is open and the neighbors are pervs... Good luck! Oh and you're welcome for the warning!_

_~Mom_'

Cecilia groans, just as she finishes reading it, she hears whistles from outside the window. She turns sharply towards it but then turns back and covers herself, blushing madly in embarrassment and anger towards her mom. Yes, thank you _so very much_ for the warning mom. Hesitantly, she turns back towards the window while making sure she is covered as much as possible and slams the window shut with such force that it causes the wood of the window panes to splinter slightly. Then she pulls the curtains shut furiously and walks back into the bathroom.

Grabbing the towel she dries off then dresses quickly in her PJ's. Finally she grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste then brushes her teeth gently. After a while she climbs into bed and falls asleep, dreaming of Porky and unknowingly, the Host Club's twins.

* * *

The next morning Cecilia wakes up to her mom shaking her awake from a peaceful dream. Cecilia scowls and tries pushing her mom away, mumbling tiredly, "Let me sleep more," until she's dragged to the floor. She groans at the ache in her shoulder but soon sits up when she sees her mom smiling widely, fully dressed with a bucket of cleaning supplies sitting near the door to the hallway.

"What time is it?" Cecilia mumbles.

Ruse grins, "4 am! Now hurry and get ready, it's best if we get a head start on cleaning so we can be done with this floor by dinner!"

"Are we going to eat breakfast and lunch?" Cecilia asks, her voice barely above a whisper though her mouth is agape and eyes wide.

"Well yes, but dinner right now is most important so we can refuel for tomorrow's cleaning of the second floor,"

"Oh..."

"Now hurry and get dressed in clothes you don't particularly like; but not your dress for school!"

"Alright..."

Cecilia stands up and rummages through her bag of clothes and picks out undergarments, an old t-shirt and shorts. Once in the bathroom she strips and changes into her new work clothes. Afterwards, she throws her PJ's on her bed and follows her grinning mom to the hallway where they walk until they are in the lobby.

"Where are we going?" Cecilia asks.

"The check-in center to get the keys for the first floor,"

"The doors are locked?"

"Well yes, they only just barely lost their customers two weeks ago, so they still have keys and locks on all the doors. Now come on,"

They stop at a desk with cracked paint on it and Ruse walks behind it then picks up the keys belonging to the first floor. In total there are five floors, about twenty rooms on each floor, and then the area that is secluded from the rest of the hotel where Liam and his grandparents live, along with rooms for the staff. The two make their way quietly to the first room in the hallway on the left; there are two hallways in each floor. After finding the key, Ruse unlocks the door and they walk inside.

Cecilia coughs as a cloud of dust flows past them and into the hallway. Once her coughing fit dies down, they begin working. Ruse places the bucket on the ground and they decide their jobs.

They get to work immediately. Cecilia grabs the broom and walks around the room collecting cobwebs and dust. She gets the ceiling, the corners, the walls, and the places in between too, shuddering every time a large spider crawls in her line of view as she dusts.

Her mom takes the vacuum and vacuums behind Cecilia as she goes, to collect the dust she missed, and to pick up the dead bugs on the ground that they step on without regret. After thirty minutes they finish that part and it looks spotless, almost. Ruse goes and vacuums the bathroom that is attached to the room. Cecilia grabs the spray bottles full of vinegar, the mop and follows.

Once her mother finishes vacuuming she grabs the mop and starts to spray the tiled floor as her mom puts the vacuum away in a corner and wraps the cord around it. Cecilia begins mopping the floor and soon she finishes. They stand and wait for three minutes jogging in place as the floor dries.

After it dries, Cecilia and Ruse go back in the bathroom and take out the rags and white vinegar. Ruse takes on the toilet while Cecilia takes on the bathtub. Her mom uses the spray first and sprays the entire toilet three times over before she hands it to Cecilia. Cecilia takes it and sprays the entire bathtub three times over before she puts the bottle down and grabs a rag.

They both start to scrub down their parts of the bathroom and soon her mom finishes and moves onto the sink while Cecilia scrubs the bathtub with urgent movements. After a while they both finish and sit back while taking a deep breath.

The bathroom now sparkles with cleanness. Cecilia goes back into the bedroom and sprays the windows then wipes them clean as Ruse stays in the bathroom to clean the counters. Cecilia polishes the window sills and the wood in the room including the empty dresser, and nightstands next to the two twin beds. Once they are done, they lock it up then move to the next room, cleaning in the same order as they did the first one, creating a routine.

They manage to finish five rooms before Liam comes and finds them, claiming they have to eat breakfast. They wash their hands then follow him out of the hallway and into a dining area near the lobby where the clients can eat, though the staff and owners have their own private dining area, they like to eat in the big room while they can. Liam's grandmother flips the last pancake onto the stack and places it on the table in front of her husband who reaches for two.

Liam sits down and quickly grabs two pancakes also then grabs the syrup and pours a ton on his small pile before Cecilia and Ruse even have a chance to sit down. His grandmother scolds him for being rude, then does the same to her husband who huffs and turns away like a child. Ruse and Cecilia laugh lightly, though Cecilia hides partially behind her mom from the elderly man.

"Don't worry dear, we don't bite," the elderly woman smiles at Cecilia who smiles gently back.

Her mom pushes her into a seat then sits down herself and they serve themselves up. They bow their heads at the last minute before eating and say thanks with the family, then dig in. After breakfast the grandmother makes Cecilia and Ruse help her in the kitchen washing dishes while the boys put the food away, the two finish before the girls.

"So how come you are so intent on helping us get this place up and running?" the woman asks as she scrubs remains of pancakes and syrup off a plate.

"Well, to help you, but I also made a deal with your husband that once this place was back up and running smoothly then we can stay here for free as long as we need to, which will be just until we can buy another house," Ruse explains, drying a cup before handing it to Cecilia to put away.

"I see. By the way, I am Molly. My husband is Derek, and you've already met Liam,"

"How did you know?" Cecilia asks, looking over her shoulder at the woman as she reaches up to put the cup away.

"He told us all about how you two played together yesterday. Such a sweet girl you are, playing with him. At school Liam is bullied and he doesn't have any friends, so this was a very nice experience for him,"

Cecilia's eyes widen. Before they moved here she was bullied for being afraid of boys; she silently understands what a big deal her playing with him was. A smile forms on her lips, glad she was able to give him some happiness, he needs it.

"Thank you very much for breakfast Molly. Oh, and I'm Ruse, this is Cecilia,"

"Nice to officially meet you," Molly nods and they finish dishes.

Ruse dully notes that Molly doesn't react to her name being Ruse. She sighs to herself in defeat.

* * *

Ruse and Cecilia work until lunch then work until dinner. After dinner they clean three more rooms, having already gotten ahead of themselves and finished half of the second floor too. Soon they each shower and go to bed, only then, as they are lying in bed, do they realize they forgot they were going to get Porky back and have Lily help them clean. Cecilia sighs, it was too late to call and ask for her to come over, so they shrug it off and fall asleep.

* * *

**Well, that was a very eventful chapter. I hope you all liked it! Please review to let me know what you thought! **

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	7. Night Terrors

The next morning the two get up at 4 am again, waking up without too many difficulties, though they stumble slightly in the darkness. After dressing themselves and brushing their teeth, they head off to finish the second floor before heading to the third floor with a bucket of cleaning supplies and the vacuum. Cecilia decides to wait until the afternoon to call Lily, that way she can sleep in, and they will be nearly halfway done already; but then she realizes it is Friday, so there is school. She sighs.

The two women work well into the morning, finishing five rooms before they are called down to breakfast. Cecilia washes her grimy hands then sits next to Liam who bounces in his chair and smiles up at her through big blue eyes.

She smiles back happily and they dig into their oatmeal that Liam's grandmother prepared. It was regular oatmeal, plain but Molly added a sprinkle of sugar on top and sliced up fresh peaches, putting them in the bowl of steaming oatmeal before any of them came into the dining room to eat. Derek watches Cecilia warily, he doesn't trust her, but for reasons only his subconscious knows of.

"This is very good! Thank you," Ruse exclaims as she places her spoon down, sighing while rubbing her now full stomach.

"You are quite welcome dear,"

"Thank you," Cecilia mumbles.

Derek looks over at her and shakes his head, "Damn it girl, if you are going to talk then speak up! Us old folk can't hear a thing you are saying when you mumble like that!"

Cecilia mutters an apology that Ruse repeats so they can hear it. Liam glares up at his grandfather.

"Grandpa! Don't be mean to Ceci! She's just a quiet person!" his bold voice echoes through the room.

His grandparents look at him, surprised at his sudden outburst. But then Molly smiles and pokes Derek in the side teasingly.

"He's going to take after you when he grows up!" Molly smiles.

"What do you mean?!" Liam exclaims, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"I mean, your grandpa was very protective of people he cared for, he still is to this day! Such a sweet loving man," she swoons as she remembers when she first met her love but soon pushes the thoughts away and turns toward Liam who looks confused still, "I mean, you are protecting Cecilia even though your grandpa didn't hurt her, because you care for her. And you even gave her a nickname!"

Liam turns red and turns away, huffing while muttering it wasn't true, though he is highly embarrassed. Cecilia smiles widely at this; the only person who protected her was her mother, but it soon grew to being the Host Club, Lily, and now Liam too. Ruse watches as her daughter's smile grows wider and wider. She chuckles to herself before she gets up and takes everyone's bowls and spoons then walks into the kitchen to wash them. Molly soon joins her once Derek leaves the dining room, leaving Liam and Cecilia.

"Your daughter is one of the first people that actually likes Liam, sad as that is since Liam is such a swell young boy. But, I'm glad that Cecilia is one of the first people who Liam bonds with, that means he will be able to trust women more now because of it,"

"Is that so?"

"I would think. I would also say that they would be a sweet pair, but Liam is much too young, so she will be more like a sister figure to him I believe. Hopefully they will become close friends,"

"They would be a very cute pair of siblings though! Oh can you even imagine the cuteness if they were actual brother and sister?" Ruse grins.

Molly shakes her head and they finish the dishes soon after, drying them and putting them away in the cabinets. They walk out back into the dining room to see Cecilia teasing Liam, who blushes in embarrassment.

"You really do care about me huh?" Cecilia laughs and hugs him, making him turn a deeper red.

Molly and Ruse laugh loudly at the sight of Cecilia babying him.

"Come on Cecilia, we have to get back to work now," Ruse motions for Cecilia to follow her, Cecilia nods and ruffles Liam's hair then walks after her mom.

Molly chuckles as Liam smooths his hair out once they leave the room.

"Are you okay dear? You are as red as a cherry tomato!" Molly smiles, her face crinkles as she does.

Liam nods his head, "She was just very grateful I stood up for her. So she was showing me her thanks,"

"Yes, and how do you feel about that? Even Derek and I haven't given you that much physical loving attention since you were younger. And what's about that? You used to love it but you made us stop after you turned seven,"

"Because all the other kids weren't getting attention from their parents, so I didn't need it..."

"Ah, is that why then? Well, you sure seem to like her attention, you turned so red I thought you might pass out from all the blood going to your face!"

Liam turns away again, hiding his face from her, but she catches his slight smile.

"I guess. She is nice though. And I think, I think she would protect me from the bullies if she met them,"

Molly nods and guides him to his room to finish his chores of putting his clothes away. She'll have to tell Derek of their little conversation later.

* * *

Ruse and Cecilia pant as they take a break from working before they plan to finish the room then go to bed. They finished the third floor, but the fourth floor's rooms were huge and took two hours to thoroughly clean one room. Sighing once they catch their breaths, Ruse and Cecilia wipe the sweat from their foreheads and continue cleaning the bathroom which doubled in size like the rooms did. After another half an hour, they finish and put the cleaning supplies away, noting they will need to buy more tomorrow before they start cleaning again.

Hastily, the two make their way to their room then decide who gets the first shower. Ruse wins the 'rock-paper-scissors' game and she grabs her PJ's before skipping to the bathroom, though she winces every other step from the soreness in her lower back. Cecilia lies on her back on her bed and gazes up at the ceiling tiredly. Her phone rings suddenly from her pocket, startling her into jumping and sliding off her bed.

She quickly sits up and pulls her phone from her pocket then answers it, her heart races a mile a minute as she speaks hesitantly.

"Cherry?! Are you there?" Lily's loud voice fills the room as Cecilia pulls the phone from her ear immediately.

"No... this is Cecilia," she murmurs once her friend's voice stops.

"But, you sound like-"

"Sh! Are you on a private phone that can't be contacted?"

"Yes, I think. It's Kyoya's,"

"Okay... well, tomorrow, meet me at noon at the hotel that went out of business. We will discuss more later. Be sure to bring Porky too,"

"...Okay... but Ch-Cecilia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Good bye now,"

"B-bye,"

Cecilia sighs as she hangs up. Kyoya must've failed to tell them that her name is now Cecilia. Now if her father got the chance and he looked up phone records, he could find this conversation and find out what her new name is. Cursing to herself, she stands up and walks over to the window. She opens it and leans out into the cool night air.

Her mom soon walks out of the bathroom and motions for her to take her shower, so she does; closing and locking the window before she goes. In the shower, she contemplates their changing names and soon realizes that they never changed their appearance. Quickly, she finishes and dries herself off then runs out to the bedroom.

"Mom!"

"What?" Ruse snaps her head to look over her shoulder but winces.

"We forgot to change our appearance. Liam, Molly and Derek have all seen us looking natural, now how are we supposed to play off the fact that we are going to look different?!"

Ruse sighs, knowing it was going to come up sooner or later, "Darling, we will simply have to play it off as though we want to change our looks for style,"

"But, we are going to tell them that we are being pursued, right?"

"Cecilia, he's in Kyoya's family's prison that has top security and cameras everywhere. We will be fine, I'm sure we won't have to worry about him anymore,"

"But mom... it's HIM for crying out loud! He tried to kill us, many times; he beat us till we passed out from blood loss or he grew tired, which was hardly ever. He raped us, many times, and other girls who he took hostage. Gosh..." Cecilia wraps her arms around herself, shivering as she remembers things she thought she forgot, "I can still hear them screaming and crying. There was so much blood too... m-m-mom, he escaped from a prison before, he will do it again when he has the right motivation... what are we going to do?"

Ruse frowns as her daughter's voice cracks and fades. Silently she notes Cecilia remembers everything... she shakes her head, ridding herself of the same thoughts and memories. She stands up and kneels in front of her visibly shaking daughter, but when she looks up into her eyes, she doesn't see the compassionate girl who used to laugh and poke fun at her, but the scarred woman who looks at the world with blank, emotionless eyes.

Ruse slaps Cecilia across the face as hard as she dares; Cecilia winces and looks up, terrified but there. She embraces her daughter and whispers in her ear comforting words that make Cecilia begin to cry into her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I won't let him get you anymore. Trust me, it won't happen again,"

"Promise?"

"... Go to bed sweetie," Ruse murmurs, hoping to get her daughter off the track of a promise that can't be kept.

"Promise?" her daughter's voice is urgent and pleading, weak and small, terrified of previous things.

"..." she lifts her daughter up and plops her onto the bed then tucks her in as her eyes begin to tear up again. Cecilia turns onto her side and away from her mom, knowing she can make no such promises, but the comfort, the lie, would have soothed her into sleeping.

Ruse sighs and gets into bed, turning the lamp off.

"Goodnight sweetie,"

Cecilia makes no move to answer. Ruse sighs and buries into the covers, smashing her face into the pillow. After a while Cecilia's voice murmurs something incoherent.

"What?" Ruse asks softly.

Cecilia clears her throat, "Didn't you have to work?"

A short silence ensues until Ruse shoots up and tumbles off her bed, searching for her phone. Once she finds it she dials the number of the hospital she works at and puts the phone to her ear.

"Hello. This is Tracy speaking from the National Hospital in Japan. How may I help you?" a distinct female voice speaks on the other end.

"Hi! I was calling in to tell you that I wasn't at work today..."

"What is your name?"

Ruse pales, not remembering which name she signed on with, so she tries her current one.

"Ruse Oakenbur...?" typing of a keyboard sounds before the woman laughs, "I'm sorry, but you have yet to be called to know if you got a position in this hospital yet. I know that the staff member who interviewed you recommended a position, but we haven't decided entirely who will make it into the few positions left in that area. You will get a call from us if you are employed. Good night Ms. Oakenbur,"

Ruse drops her phone as the woman hangs up. Cecilia glances at her mom's face, having overheard the entire conversation.

"Are you okay?"

"I swear I just went to work a few days ago!" Ruse spins to Cecilia.

Cecilia racks her brain for an answer, she sighs, "Mom. I remember you telling me how fun it was when you got a thorough tour of the hospital. You went there a couple times because the hospital is so big the tour was cut into sections..."

"Was not! I went to work!"

"No, you went on a detailed tour,"

Minutes tick by before her mom finally gapes as she plops onto her bed in disbelief at herself. Silently she rolls under her covers and tries to fall asleep. Cecilia does the same.

* * *

The next morning they get up and go about with their normal routine of getting ready for work before they gather the cleaning supplies. Walking to the lobby the two grab the keys for the fourth floor then walk up the six flights of stairs and make their way to the fourth door in the first hallway on the left. They unlock the door and go into the room and get started, or try to, only to realize they need more supplies for they ran out last night. Cecilia and Ruse sigh in unison as they walk out of the room then lock it. Ruse hitches the keys to her belt loop and they walk downstairs to their room where they pull out the safe and grab a small amount of money for the cleaning supplies.

"Wait, mom, it's 4 in the morning, no stores are going to be open except for the 24-hour fast food restaurants,"

Her mom groans in frustration, "Are you serious?"

"As serious as a cat pulled from a fish tank,"

Ruse blinks, never having heard that expression used before. Sighing she leads the way back into their room from the hallway. Cecilia smiles and leaps onto her bed then cuddles into the blankets, happy for the extra few hours of rest she will get before they are called for breakfast. Ruse sits on her bed and watches as Cecilia soon falls into a deep sleep, one that she can tell is full of nightmares of what they talked about the night before.

Last night Cecilia woke up screaming five times from night terrors and it took Liam, bless his heart, to come in and hug her tightly before she calmed down even slightly from her panic attack that always follows her night terrors. Molly and Derek had to pull Liam away from Cecilia, for he was worried after the fifth time they woke up to her screaming, and force him to bed again. Cecilia had stayed awake after that, not wanting to fall asleep, but eventually did a couple minutes before the alarm went off and her mom woke her up.

Suddenly Cecilia sits up in her bed, her eyes closed, still in a deep sleep; Ruse watches, startled as she begins walking slowly, mechanically towards the bathroom door. Ruse gets up and wraps her arms around Cecilia when she stops all of a sudden and tears roll down her face, her mouth open in a silent scream and small gasps work their way out of Cecilia's mouth.

"Shh. Cecilia, dear it's alright. You have nothing to be afraid of anymore. The threat is gone, you don't have to worry about protecting me or yourself anymore," she pauses but notices that Cecilia doesn't fall into a dreamless sleep like she normally does when this happens.

Tears well up in Ruse's eyes, "Liam and Lily, and everyone else are going to be fine too. They are strong people, you don't have to worry about them right now," her voice begins shuddering from the tears, so she stops speaking and tightens her hold on Cecilia when she duly falls limp in her arms.

Ruse picks her up and tucks her under the blankets then lies on her bed and waits.

At 7:30 am sharp, Molly calls Ruse and Cecilia to breakfast. When only Ruse comes down to breakfast they look at her with eyes chalk full of worry.

"Where's Cecilia?" Derek asks, his voice gruff and deep.

"She's passed out. The past, incidents, took a toll on her and she's in a deep sleep. After what happened, and with how deep of a slumber she is in, she can only wake up in her own time,"

"Does this normally happen?" Molly asks as they sit down to eat.

"Not normally, but periodically, yes. Especially after what happened last night..."

"What happened?" Liam's small voice breaks through the tense atmosphere.

Ruse looks over at the young boy and lowers her head, "We were talking, about her father. You see, there is something I should have told you before I even made the deal with you-"

"I knew that you were hiding something, that Cecilia is a person of suspicion!"

Ruse blinks, "'Person of suspicion'?"

"Well yes! The way she cowers whenever she's in the same room as I am, I mean she's fine around everyone else but when I'm in the room, she begins shivering ever so slightly and gets nervous, it's so obvious that I'm surprised you waited to bring it up so long!"

Ruse tilts her head, "What the heck are you talking about?!"

"I'm saying that she committed a crime and is so terrified because I'm a retired Navy soldier!"

"You are?"

"Yes!"

Ruse laughs, "Please, that is not why she is cowering when you are in the room. She was like this with Liam too when they first met,"

Derek scratches his balding head, "Well now what are you talking about?"

"I mean, she's absolutely petrified of the male gender, in general," Ruse explains.

Molly nods along. Derek snaps his head towards her.

"You knew?!"

She nods, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Molly laughs, "I truly thought it was obvious!"

Ruse shakes her head, "Really? I had to tell you before you got it,"

Molly pouts playfully, "Well that's not fair, you don't need to go bringing that up,"

Ruse shakes her head with laughter, "I see, I see. Okay. Sorry!"

Liam looks between each adult.

"What's going on? Tell me, tell me!"

Ruse ruffles his hair, much like how Cecilia did the other day, "Cecilia is afraid of boys,"

"She is? But me and her get along so well!"

"Yes, that's because she thinks of you as her little brother in a sense. And you two seem to have grown a bond so she's not afraid of you anymore. But Derek, well you haven't exactly been all nice and cheery to her, so she's still afraid of you, hate to break it to ya,"

"I don't care if she hates me as long as she ain't no criminal!"

"She's not a criminal! Her father was, he... did things to her, us, after I left him and it scarred Cecilia deeply,"

Molly gasps and covers her mouth, "He didn't!"

"He did, when she was young too,"

"How old?!"

"I-I don't remember honestly, it was so long ago and yet.. it feels like just yesterday,"

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that she went through such things..." Derek mumbles.

Ruse smiles bitterly, "It's alright. I should have told you sooner. But as I was saying, her father is pursuing us, at the moment he is locked up in a private jail with top security and the measures necessary to take him down if need be, I hope,"

"You hope?!"

"Yes, I don't actually know, but Cecilia's friend's, friend who runs a club is Kyoya Ootori and his family has a private police force-"

"Ah please, even if it is top security. A guy who has a reason to escape can and will find a way to escape no matter the cost- especially for revenge- and it seems like you made the perfect reason for revenge what with you two splitting up. Doesn't matter what the cost, he will find you two,"

"I know, and that's why Cecilia had the night terrors last night. Though truly, she had very few compared to the previous times she's had night terrors,"

"Really...?" Molly asks, surprised.

"Oh yes. Gosh, normally she has around fifteen in one night, give or take a few. This is considerably less, I think it's because Liam was there to help calm her down in between. I am unable to calm her down after night terrors, so she tires herself out then falls back to sleep near immediately and wakes up soon after screaming her head off. But, since she has grown so attached to Liam, I think because he's familiar it helped,"

"You think?" Liam asks.

Ruse nods and they finish breakfast in silence. As the two women are washing dishes Liam runs to check on Cecilia. Ruse yells for him to come back, he does so grudgingly.

"Liam, before you go in there you must know that she won't wake up unless it's on her own time. And if she does somehow wake up because you are there, get out of there as fast as you can,"

Molly and Liam look at her, startled looks etch their faces.

"If someone manages to wake her up before she is ready after a night of night terrors, she will lash out violently. I learned that the hard way, ended up having to be taken to my doctor for broken ribs, nasty little thing she is when she wakes. And brutally strong for being so small,"

"She's not that small,"

"Well that's true, being 5 foot and what, 7 inches I think if I remember correctly, isn't that terribly small... But be very careful, okay?"

Liam nods and runs off to their room. Molly looks at Ruse from the corner of her eye.

"What exactly happened to you two? Tell me everything, don't leave a detail out,"

Ruse glances at her, "You sure?"

"Yep. Go on now,"

"Alright, since you insist..."

Ruse tells her about their divorce, how Cecilia was previously named Cherry and how her name was previously Mika, telling her about when they were captured one day and held prisoners to the man, how he raped them and beat them until they passed out. And every other thing in between, as promised, she left nothing out, spilling every single detail until finally there was no more to say.

"Wow... So that's why she's terrified of men..."

"Yes, but she's unknowingly taken a liking to a pair of twin boys who saved us from him when he escaped from prison before we came here. Course their entire club came and helped..."

Molly smiles lightly at this and they talk quietly about happier things until Liam comes darting into the room.

"Grandma!" Liam pants as he bends over in front of the two conversing ladies.

"What is it Liam? What's wrong?!"

"She's... I-I kind of... woke her up..."

"You what?!" Ruse shouts.

Liam flinches and Ruse apologizes quickly, "She was tossing and mumbling something in her sleep, so I sat next to her to hear her and her eyes snapped open suddenly. It scared me so bad I leapt from my spot and ran before she even got up,"

"Did you at least close the door?"

"...I don't think so..."

Ruse curses under her breath and stands up.

"What is it?"

Ruse turns and looks over her shoulder, "We now have a monster unleashed in the building. We have to find her before she hurts herself or someone else and we have to be quick about it,"

"Why?" Molly asks, standing as well.

"Because if we don't, the memories will keep going, and they will tear her soul apart bit by bit until she snaps and is unreachable. This has happened once before and I don't ever want to go through it again. Get Derek and warn him now!"

Molly nods and pulls Liam with her out the door. Ruse heaves a deep sigh. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**That took an unexpected twist at the end, since originally, that wasn't supposed to happen… But, it makes it more interesting, that's for sure. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review to let me know what you think.**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	8. The Host Club Helps

Cecilia stands up, watching Liam run out the door then listens to him screaming to her mom and Molly. She glares and listens as footsteps begin running around. Her fists tighten as she slips into the shadows against the walls once out the door. She knows what her mom is going to do; lock her inside the building and get the rest of them out of it until she calms down. Well, she won't let that happen if she can help it.

* * *

Lily wakes up Saturday morning to find Porky sitting by her door, squealing like mad. She gets up from her comfortable bed that's covered in dark green, satin sheets, and walks over to the black pig who squeals his anger, or discomfort, she can never tell with how consistently_ loud_ he has been lately. She picks him up and rubs his head before carrying him back to her bed, her long silver hair trails behind her. Once she sits on her bed she picks up her phone and looks at the time, 8:04 am. An annoyed groan escapes her lips as she falls onto her pillows. Porky snorts loudly and Lily glares at him before shouting at him to shut up.

"I can't handle you anymore Porky! That's it, I'm done. I don't know how Ch-Cecilia ever took care of you without wanting to cook you up into bacon," Lily huffs as she dials Cecilia's number.

Her phone rings multiple times before the monotone voice speaks, "Cecilia Oakenbur is not available..." Lily frowns and tries calling her again and again, each time the same thing happens. Exasperated she dials a different number, the phone is answered almost immediately.

"Hello?" a groggy male voice sounds on the other line.

Lily sighs in relief, "Hey Tamaki, say, do you think you can get ahold of Kyoya to see if he can contact Cecilia's mom?"

"Ce- who's Cecilia?"

"Oh, I forgot Kyoya didn't tell you, Cecilia is actually Cherry, but she changed her name,"

"Oh..."

"So, can you call Kyoya?"

A strangled gasp answers her before shouting, "NO WAY! I am _not_ going to call Kyoya! He is a monster when he wakes up, and on the weekends..." she can imagine him shivering, "no way. I cannot do that. If that is all then goodbye,"

"But hey!"

The line disconnects and she huffs before dialing the twin's number.

It rings a couple times before someone answers, "Hello?" Hikaru mumbles.

"Hey, don't freak out, but could you contact Kyoya and see-"

"No. We aren't going to call Kyoya so early in the morning on the weekend,"

"Please? It's important!" Lily exclaims, albeit tiredly.

She hears a sigh, "What is it? Tell us the reason and I may consider doing it..."

"Well, it's Cecilia-"

"Who is that?"

She hears rustling as Kaoru leans over to listen into the conversation, "It's Cherry. She changed her name, her mom probably did too, but that's not important right now,"

"Then what is?" Hikaru asks, annoyance shows through his voice.

Kaoru steals the phone, "What happened to Cherry?"

"Her name is Cecilia; but I don't know. I can't get ahold of her today and yesterday she called me saying to meet her at the hotel that just went out of business today at noon. It sounded like she needed to tell me something important, well she told me that much, but she asked if I was talking on a phone that couldn't be tracked, makes me think more people are after her then just her dad,"

Lily pulls the phone away from her ear when the Kaoru suddenly drop the phone, making a loud ringing sound to pass through to her end. After the ringing subsides Lily hears rustling in the background until Hikaru picks the phone up again and speaks.

"Lily, call the other Hosts, I'll call Kyoya and tell them to meet at that hotel you talked about-"

"The one that just went out of business..."

"Yeah that one; have everyone meet there no later than 9 am. Okay?"

"Okay; is everything alright with Kaoru though? He kind of dropped the phone..." Lily sweat drops at this.

"Uh, he's fine. Bye now,"

"Bye!"

Lily quickly dials the other Hosts numbers, and after explaining that Cherry changed her name to Cecilia, she informs them where and when to meet. Afterwards she quickly gets dressed in tight jeans that flare at the ankles and a lime colored tank-top with black heels and puts her hair in a high ponytail before she picks Porky up and walks to the bathroom where she brushes her teeth then gathers Porky up again and leaves.

Lily grabs her helmet and backpack, then secures Porky in the pack. She walks into her garage pulls her skateboard that her mom tries to hide from her, from behind an old, broken down truck, and quickly walks a block from her house before getting on her skateboard and going to the designated meeting place. She meets up with Haruhi, who rides her blue bike, halfway there.

Soon they skid to a stop in front of the hotel. Lily's eyes widen and Haruhi mentally curses at the dump of a place. Haruhi turns towards Lily who looks back at her.

"You are 100% POSITIVE that she wanted you to meet her here, right?"

"Yep... 100% positive,"

Haruhi swings her leg over her bike and takes her helmet off; Lily takes her helmet off and slides the backpack off her shoulders. Porky snorts as she pulls him from the bag and slings the bag back over her shoulder along with her helmet. Just then, a black limo pulls up on the curb. The driver parks then climbs out and quickly opens the door for the other members of the Host club to get out of.

As soon as they see the place, their jaws go slack in shock and their eyes widen to the size of saucers. Suddenly shouts are heard from inside the place and they are ready to run in when Ruse, Molly, Liam and Derek run out and slam the double doors shut. Derek takes the liberty of locking the old doors to give them time to escape from the area. Kyoya casts Ruse a curious glance and she quickly explains while making them back away.

"So..." Hikaru starts.

"She's gone berserk?" Kaoru finishes dully.

Ruse chuckles though it holds no humor, "I suppose you could put it that way. She simply isn't in her right mind at the moment because of her night terrors, well, this is the normal aftermath of her night terrors if she is woken up from her slumber after before she can wake up on her own."

Liam cries, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake her up!"

Ruse sighs, "I don't blame you. It's just sometimes she is very AWARE of her surroundings and doesn't matter if you make the slightest intake of breath, she wakes up. No need to fret over it. But we should get to a reasonably safe place away from here..."

"Can't we just do something?" Tamaki asks.

The twins nod their agreement. Ruse shakes her head.

"What would you suppose we did? Huh? We can't go in there and slap her into the present..." the twin's eyes glint and the rest of the people who know the two well enough, pale.

"Oh no Hikaru, Kaoru. Don't you dare do that!" Lily yelps out.

Their grins don't falter, "Why not?"

"Because it was an example! Not a thing you should actually do!" Ruse glares at them.

A sudden scream and shattering inside the place make them all jump. Ruse pales even further and steps back.

"I don't care what you lot do, but I am going to take them away from here. Kyoya you have my number, call me when you get her under control," Ruse mumbles; she drags the three people away from the club members and Lily.

"H-hey! So you're just going to leave us to take care of her?!" Lily shouts after the retreating figures.

They don't look back and only move faster when Cecilia's shrill screams reach their ears a second time. Mori and Kyoya stiffen ever so slightly and watch as the twins break down the door to get inside since the old man brought the keys with him. Lily and Haruhi prop their objects of transportation up against the building and follow the twins inside the run down hotel, not knowing what to expect.

Mori, Honey, Tamaki, and Kyoya follow them in a second later and together the group walks into the building which to their surprise is actually nicer than they thought it would be. The lobby area is clean and looks in good shape, though they notice the broken windows seconds later. Porky squeals and the screaming suddenly stops. Lily puts Porky down and he runs as fast as his little legs can carry him down the first hallway they see. The twins follow the tiny pig, Haruhi and Lily follow them, and soon the rest of them are running after the pig.

They come to the end of the hallway and see a touching sight. Or it would be, except as soon as Cecilia notices them standing there, she tightens her hold on Porky who nuzzles into her torso as she fearfully takes a step back. Lily and Haruhi catch on immediately why she is backing away and they swiftly turn around to the Host members.

"You have to go," Haruhi says.

"What? Why?" Hikaru asks.

"Because, your presence is scaring her. She still isn't exactly in her right mind and since she is so utterly terrified of males in the first place, seeing you all here at once, it's unnerving her. You have to go or she might hurt herself trying to get away from you," they explain in unison.

"But, we can't leave-"

"Go, now!" Lily exclaims tersely.

Honey and the twins open their mouths to argue until Haruhi glares at them. Her bangs cast shadows over her eyes and her eyes glint menacingly, making them gulp. They quickly nod and walk away. Kyoya pulls out his phone and calls Ruse, telling her of the current situation.

Haruhi and Lily greet Cecilia cautiously but with ease. Cecilia runs over to them and pulls them into death hugs, making Porky squeak in between them until she lets go and motions them into her room. They sit down on Cecilia's bed facing each other in a sort of triangle with their legs pulled up to their bodies. Cecilia lowers her eyes in shame and apologizes for causing such a ruckus though she thanks them for helping too.

Then, she begins talking, telling them everything that happened in her past, explaining in detail why she hates males and the one exception so far. She spills her guts to them about everything, and they sit and listen patiently, drinking up every word that comes out of her mouth and comforting her when she begins crying until she can go on.

Nearly two hours later Cecilia stops talking and smiles weakly at them. Lily and Haruhi stare at her; the last words she spoke were deep and filled with emotions. She told them of her greatest fears, the man who created her, and gave every single scenario she came up with about how he could escape and what he would do to her and her mom once he got a hold of them. There were a LOT of scenarios.

Finally, Ruse walks into the room, breaking the growing silence with a loud roar.

"The members of the Host club have agreed to help us get this place up and running, since we don't have much money to use to repair things they have agreed to help buy the needed supplies! Which means Cecilia, we don't have to buy new windows for every level!" Ruse shouts.

The three girls wince at the sudden loudness but smile nonetheless.

"T-that's good..." Cecilia mumbles.

Ruse nods enthusiastically, "Yes it is! Now come on, lunch is being made by Molly and Derek and they agreed to let the Hosts eat with us as a reward for helping us buy the major things needed! And for helping get you under control so you didn't wreck the place,"

Ruse skips out of the room making the three girls sweat-drop. Slowly they get up and stretch then walk out of the room while Porky trots along behind them, his head held high and his curly tail waving back and forth. Together they walk into the kitchen and Cecilia begins apologizing profusely to the elderly couple who wave her off saying it's not that big of a deal. They push them out of the room and into the dining room where the Hosts, Ruse and Liam sit, talking animatedly about god knows what.

When they sit down on the other side of the table from the Hosts, Liam leaps up and takes the chair next to Cecilia, a worried look on his face.

"Ceci, are you okay?" Liam asks.

Cecilia smiles and nods while ruffling his hair. Afterwards he quickly smooths it back into its original position while the people gathered laugh.

"So, this must be the 'exception' then, huh Cecilia?" Lily teases quietly.

Cecilia nods and rolls her eyes. Haruhi smiles widely at their exchange but their attention is soon diverted to Tamaki who coos loudly at Haruhi's smile. She simply rolls her eyes, along with most of the people who actually know Tamaki. Soon Molly and Derek come out carrying trays of food, they place the platters of food in the middle of the table as a chorus of 'thank you's' go up.

They quickly dig in; the 'less-mannered' boys, including the twins, Liam, Tamaki and Derek, fight loudly over the last piece of bacon. Suddenly Liam points to the wall behind them, yells out, "A snake!" and as they quickly look over their shoulders, he snatches the last piece. When they finally look back and see Liam happily munching on the crispy bacon, they grumble and pout in defeat, causing the others to laugh or scoff.

"Please, you guys are way too easy to trick!" Lily chirps with a smile.

The people nod in amusement as the four blush and look away while huffing. Ruse looks over at the triumphant Liam then realizes something.

"Liam?"

"Mhm?" he looks over with his mouth full.

"Why weren't you in school this week?" Ruse asks.

He swallows moments later and shrugs, "I was suspended for defending myself from bullies. Those stupid jerks started it in the first place, just because I don't have parents. All I did was push the guy nearest to me, but he fell and hit his head on the pavement. Gosh, he doesn't even have good reflexes!"

Cecilia narrows her eyes at this and a dark, threatening aura surrounds her quickly and only darkens more as Liam explains. Ruse flinches, knowing all too well the aura that surrounds her daughter. As it darkens she gulps, it can only mean certain doom for the bullies once she gets her hands on them. But then she realizes that she doesn't have to even touch them, and they will be crying and screaming for their mommies.

She places her hand firmly on her shoulder, stopping her from standing up; the movement is not noticeable to the rest of the group since they stare in shock at Liam who shrugs again.

"Don't even think about it Cecilia," Ruse warns venomously.

Cecilia glares at her and Ruse glares back until reluctantly Cecilia lowers her gaze and her aura lessens into the background. Her hand slips and falls into her lap as they begin eating again. Lily and Haruhi, having noticed the slight change in their new friend, glance over and see the small interactions between the two.

Lily leans over and whispers, "She's gonna be a frightening mother hen when she grows up. I mean that's not even her kid, and yet she looks like she's going to freakin' murder the bullies!"

Haruhi nods in silent agreement. They all eat and once they finish, Molly, Derek, and Liam gather the plates and head into the kitchen to wash them. The rest find themselves sitting in an awkward silence.

"So..." Lily starts.

"So...?" the twins mutter.

"How about we go and look at the damage that needs to be fixed!" Ruse smiles and stands up, deciding for them already.

They nod and follow her out of the room and into the lobby where Ruse takes measurements of the windows and takes notes with a random notepad and pencil lying about. Once she's done she turns and looks at Kyoya.

"Kyoya!" Ruse shouts.

Kyoya flinches ever so slightly since she is nearly right in front of him, "Yes?"

"Do you have contacts to people who replace windows?!"

Kyoya scoffs, highly offended that she even asked, "Of course I do. I have contacts for nearly everything, and if I don't then I have contacts to get me the ones I need,"

Ruse rolls her eyes and nods, "Good, then have them repair these windows, I made a list of what kind and the measurements. Thanks, now get on it!"

Kyoya sighs but steps away to make the call after grabbing the slip of paper she tears off the notepad. Ruse smiles and looks around before listing anything else she can fix, before she ushers them up to the other floors. After listing all the windows for the first, second, third, and fourth floor, they ascend the stairs to the fifth floor.

Cecilia murmurs softly, "Everyone be careful, this floor was struck multiple times by lightning and has damage done, so watch where you step,"

Just as she said that Honey yelps as his foot falls through the floorboards. Mori moves like lightning and before they can blink, pulls Honey from the hole and plops him onto his shoulders. Honey thanks him with a smile and nervous laughter. They sigh in relief and are sure to look for any darkened splotches, being careful to steer clear. As they walk along Ruse jots down notes of all the damage done and estimates the cost of repairs. She winces and hisses delicately in displeasure at the price. Over nearly 400,000 yen if they redid all the rooms. Haruhi and Cecilia walk over to her and look over her shoulder. They silently contemplate how to lower the price and soon come up with an idea.

In unison Cecilia and Haruhi exclaim, "You just need to put new wallpaper over the scorched walls then have the windows and floorboards replaced with the furniture. It should lower the price,"

They look at each other and laugh lightly.

Hikaru and Kaoru add, "You could also reupholster the furniture; that would lower the costs too. You work for our mom so I'm sure you can make a deal and she'll give you large textiles of fabric,"

Ruse gasps, "Oh my gosh! My part-time job! I totally forgot! Cecilia, Haruhi, Lily, and the rest of you," they sweat-drop, "you are going to have to finish this without me! Sorry! Bye!"

Ruse shoves the notepad and pencil into Cecilia's hands. Ruse quickly steps around the charred areas on the ground and soon they hear her running down the steps. Cecilia laughs awkwardly and looks at the group of people before her. She shuffles awkwardly and gulps until Haruhi takes the notepad from her and looks around.

"Okay everyone! So first, from what I remember Ruse saying earlier, we need to go out and buy cleaning supplies and help Cecilia clean the rest of the rooms on the fourth floor," Haruhi speaks clearly as they make their way down the stairs too.

"Alright! We're going to the supermarket!" the twins exclaim excitedly.

Haruhi, Lily and Cecilia sigh, they all were of 'lower-class'; though Lily got into Ouran because of her aunt who paid for everything for her; so they knew things the rich kids walking behind them didn't. How to properly shop without going about buying everything that looked 'cool'. And Haruhi, having taken the Host club out shopping with her before, though she was technically forced to, shakes her head at having to deal with it a second time.

Tamaki and Honey grin as they join in with the twin's chanting as they go to the first floor. Cecilia quickly takes the notepad and pencil from Haruhi and runs to her room where the bucket of cleaning supplies lays, forgotten in the heat of things on the ground. She writes down the brands of the supplies, grabs a small handbag her mother gave her, puts money into the bag, locks the door behind her which efficiently locks porky in it too, then rushes back to the waiting group who look at her expectantly. She hands Haruhi the notepad and shoves the pencil into her pocket as they begin walking out the door.

Cecilia hastily puts the strap of the bag over her shoulder and watches as Haruhi and Lily follow the Host club to the limo parked slightly lopsided in the parking lot next to the hotel. Lily turns back and with a smile, ushers Cecilia over and into the limo. The three girls sit squished in between the twins while the other Hosts sit opposite of them. They are silent as the driver pulls out onto the road and drives them to the nearest supermarket.

Once they arrive, they step out and the girls lead the way into the busy market. The group stays somewhat close together, though the twins, Tamaki, and Honey pull them every direction away from the cleaning supplies, wanting to look at something else. Finally they split into groups and the girls shop for the needed supplies while the boys look around. They meet up outside hours later.

"What the heck took you guys so long?! We've been waiting here for nearly two hours!" Lily shouts as the Hosts walk calmly out of the store.

Kyoya sighs dreadfully, "We got... lost," he spits this word out like poison, "and it took us awhile to find our way out, especially with the three idiots who kept dragging us everywhere," he points specifically at Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru who smile nervously as Lily glares at them.

"Well now we have to work twice as hard you idiots! Come on, let's go!"

Cecilia smiles as Lily and Haruhi get up from the curb and they begin dragging the bags of supplies to the limo, each carries two bags; they may or may not have gotten a _little_ excited when a ton of new supplies came out and they each bought a_ couple_ cute things. They squish into the limo and ride back to the hotel in silence. Quickly they get out once the limo is parked and they move inside to organize the cleaning supplies. The other things the girls bought they keep hidden in the bags and manage to sneak away to hide them in Cecilia's room.

Then together the large group ascends the stairs to the fourth floor. Cecilia teaches/shows them how to clean the room and bathroom then splits them up into small groups; Haruhi, Lily and Cecilia in one group, Tamaki, Kyoya and Hikaru in another, and Mori, Honey and Kaoru in the last group. They split off, each carrying a bucket of supplies and clean their hearts out. They meet at the top of the stairs five hours later and sigh in relief. Now all that was left was to repair the fifth floor, then they could clean it too and reupholster the chairs and other pieces of furniture and cover the scorched walls in wallpaper.

They lean against the railings as they make their way tiredly down the stairs. Lily forgets that Cecilia wanted to talk to her about something important, the day's events were too much for them, and they all pass out in rooms in the same hallway near Cecilia's room where her friends sleep on her mom's bed and on her's. They forget about dinner as they drift asleep, forget about their troubles; forget that there was a man locked up in Kyoya's prison. They forget about everything important, except Cecilia, who twists and turns in her sleep, moaning and panting as another nightmarish memory haunts her sleep.

* * *

**Haha! Another chapter done! Officially one chapter past the place before I redid the entire story. So glad that it worked out well and wasn't a huge mistake. Hope you guys liked it and please review! It could be simply one worded reviews, but I would _love_ a review from everyone reading this. Thanks!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	9. Change of Appearance

They wake up early the next morning to Ruse pushing each and everyone of them off their beds. When she makes it to her room she notices Cecilia's pale face and frowns. Another nightmare it seems. She wakes up Haruhi and Lily then her daughter who groans at being woken up. Ruse places the back of her hand on Cecilia's forehead and sighs, a fever from the emotional stress. Ruse pushes Cecilia back onto her bed and ushers the two girls out of the room as she checks Cecilia again.

"Darling you are gonna have to stay in bed today and sleep." Ruse murmurs softly.

Cecilia shakes her head slowly, "No, I want to work and help you get the hotel... like... you know..."

"Yeah, but you are not going to help. Go to sleep and I'll see if I can find you medicine." Ruse pushes her hair from her face and then leaves the room, ignoring Cecilia's quiet protests.

Ruse finds the teens gathered in the lobby, Kyoya and Honey stand far apart from the group, grumbling and silently planning revenge on Ruse for waking them up at 4 in the morning. They really all look exhausted and glare at Ruse.

"_Why_ did you wake us up at... what time is it?" Tamaki grumbles.

Ruse grins, "4 am! Don't worry, you will get used to it, Cecilia and I did this for the past couple days."

"_4 am_?!" Hikaru and Kaoru yelp.

Ruse nods and shushes them.

"You must be quiet! The owners of this place are still sleeping!"

"You're worried about them sleeping and not us?!" Tamaki whispers harshly.

"Yes now be quiet. Come on, we are going to start cleaning the fourth floor!"

Lily and Haruhi sigh, "We finished cleaning it yesterday."

"Eh, you did?"

"Yes. Wait, do you mean you woke us up to clean and now we don't have anything to clean?!" Lily, Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru glare at her.

"Hey, did you know I changed my name?" Ruse quickly changes the subject.

Kyoya and Honey glare and sneak off to go back to bed.

Tamaki tilts his head, "You did?"

"Yep! Guess what it is!"

"What?"

"Guess!"

"No. You are just trying to change the subject you sneaky woman." Lily growls.

"Pfft! No I'm not!"

"You are too!"

"Well, my name is Ruse!"

"Ruse? Doesn't that mean trick? Are you seriously trying to trick us?" Hikaru blanches.

Mori takes the time to sneak off too, though neither of the three had to sneak since none of the others except for Haruhi were paying them any attention.

"Haha! Yes it worked!"

"What worked?!..." Lily gasps, "You were tricking us!" Lily yells.

"Shh!"

"_You_ shush!"

Ruse and Lily have a glaring contest which makes the others sigh and they travel back to bed. Soon Lily huffs and turns her nose up while walking to her room. Ruse sniffs and glares at her back but quickly remembers she was supposed to get medicine, she sighs, it was too early to wake them up now. Ruse grudgingly slumps back to her room and pushes Lily not-to-kindly off her bed then lays down. Lily gets up with a growl and storms out of the room to find the one Haruhi placed herself in since Cecilia was sick.

* * *

When they are woken up again, it's by Liam who pounces on them laughing and poking their sides until they either begin laughing, push him off, or pick him up, place him on the floor and go back to bed. When Liam makes it back to the kitchen he is followed by Cecilia, Ruse and Haruhi, the only ones who are somewhat morning people. Ruse glances at her daughter as they sit down.

"Are you feeling better Cecilia?" Ruse asks tenderly.

Cecilia nods, "Yeah, it was only a twenty-four hour flu. No big deal."

Ruse sighs in relief and smiles at her and the other two sitting on either side of Cecilia. Molly and Derek come out of the kitchen carrying trays with bowls of steaming porridge. Molly looks at the four of them curiously.

"Where is everyone else?" she asks lightly.

Liam pouts cutely, "They are big meanies. They don't want to get out of bed."

They laugh at his expression; for being ten, he sure acts a lot younger. Molly sighs as they place the bowls out on the table, each in a separate spot. After fifteen minutes of waiting, despite Liam's protests, they finally dig in. Liam grabs a small container filled to the brim with salt. He pours it onto his porridge before Cecilia and Molly can swallow to warn him it's not sugar. Placing the salt shaker down, he lifts his spoon and drags it through his porridge then takes a big bite, only to choke and spit it out in disgust.

Ruse and Derek laugh as he coughs and runs to the kitchen quickly. Water is heard as the faucet is turned on while Liam quickly slurps up water, sloshes it around in his mouth then spits it out, repeating the process multiple times. When he comes back a few minutes later he wears a frown of slight confusion, making everyone present burst out laughing.

"Wha... What was that?!" he asks loudly over their laughing.

Cecilia hiccups, a loud, high pitch noise escapes her mouth, before she blushes and answers him in between giggles.

"It was salt silly! It was at the table next to the pepper; sugar doesn't normally sit next to the pepper."

Suddenly he realizes this and blushes in embarrassment, making them laugh slightly harder until they finally calm down. Molly gets up and takes Liam's bowl and has him follow her into the kitchen to make more but with sugar this time. Haruhi and Cecilia lightly joke around until the two come back and sit down. Liam takes a second to glare at the salt before turning and eating his porridge greedily. As they finish up Molly takes the dishes and ushers them out of the kitchen.

"Go on, go on. I am perfectly capable of washing dishes by myself." Molly says as she gives Cecilia a final push.

She sighs and follows Haruhi down the hallway. Lily sits up in bed as the two enter the room, causing light from the hallway to flood into the dark expanse. Lily blinks and quickly shields her eyes from the sudden, harsh lighting. Cecilia laughs as she pounces on Lily's bed, jumping slightly on her knees, this earns her a quiet giggle.

"Why didn't you come and have breakfast with us when Liam woke you up?" Cecilia asks, crawling slowly over to her friend who scoots backwards.

Lily laughs as Cecilia corners her in her bed, "Because, I was soooo tired! I just couldn't get up yet."

"That's no excuse. Get your lazy butt up and help me get revenge on the idiots who didn't wake up either." Cecilia grins wickedly.

Lily giggles, her laughter soon turns slightly wicked as she nods and gets up, pulling Haruhi after her as Cecilia follows. They silently open the first door they come across that is occupied; upon seeing Takashi and Mitsukuni sleeping deeply they stifle their devious laughter and creep up to the beds. Haruhi frowns, knowing it won't turn out too well, so she lags behind, leaning up against the doorway as her two idiotic friends crouch low before pouncing on the cousins.

Mitsukuni yelps as Cecilia tickles him, but he simply pushes her off onto the floor a moment later, mumbling grumpily about how he was woken up like that earlier. Takashi grabs Lily's arms before she can even touch him. She squeals and laughs loudly, squirming as she tries to get close enough to tickle the calm man. After a few moments of not managing to even move her arms, she gives up, going slack in his grasp, so he calmly releases her. Haruhi shakes her head at them as Lily pouts cutely.

"You two are no fun! Come on Cecilia, Haruhi, let's go try again with someone else." she quickly turns on her heels and pulls the two girls out of the room, leaving the door open wide.

Mitsukuni glances at his dark haired cousin who sighs at the girl's pathetic antics of getting 'revenge'.

"I wonder who they are going to try to get next?" Mitsukuni whispers.

An idea pops into his mind and he drags himself out of bed, walking over to Takashi and pulling him out of bed too, before they follow the three girls who giggle madly down the hallways. Lily and Cecilia drag Haruhi into the next room they find occupied, coming across Kyoya who simply glares daggers at them when they creep up on either side of his bed. If looks could kill, well they would be dead a hundred times over. Lily grumbles about the Hosts being no fun as she drags the two out of the room, Takashi and Mitsukuni following them silently.

The two Hosts peer into the room they just invaded and see the 'Demon King' falling back into his bed somewhat gracefully. They shake their heads at this and follow the girls again. They come across the three tickling the twins senseless.

The twins laugh loudly as Haruhi, Cecilia and Lily tickle them to the best of their ability, though it's kind of hard to tickle someone when they are kicking wildly and covering their ticklish areas on their body. Lily suddenly backs up then runs and leaps onto Hikaru who yelps as the air is expelled from his lungs violently. Haruhi laughs as she begins tickling Hikaru too, who blushes when she does. Cecilia and Kaoru wrestle lightly on the floor, having fallen off a while ago when Hikaru kicked them off on accident with his wild thrashing. The two tickle each other while laughing and twisting away from each other's grasps.

A deep laugh startles them all into freezing as Takashi chuckles at their silly antics. Mitsukuni rubs his eyes tiredly as he giggles lightly at them. They all grin and begin laughing loudly. Hikaru, Kaoru, Lily and Cecilia's eyes glint as they get an idea. Getting up, they run from the room and find Tamaki's room. They silently open the door, prowling over to the King's bed as he snores lightly. Lily and Hikaru on one side and Kaoru and Cecilia on the other side of his bed. As one they leap up and scream, attacking the king with a sudden tickle torture fest.

Tamaki screams as he is assaulted by tickling and he rolls off his bed in front of Hikaru and Lily, only to realize he should've gone off the other side when their eyes glint mischieviously. Seconds later they attack him viciously, making him yelp and twist, kicking his legs wildly like Hikaru did only minutes before. Haruhi laughs as the king cries out for help, but receives none as his fellow members watch on in amusement.

After five minutes the two finally cease their relentless attacks and stand up from the visibly shaking Tamaki who has tears streaming from his eyes due to laughing so hard. Cecilia, Haruhi and Lily stand together with smug smiles on their faces.

"That's what you get for not waking up when Liam tried waking you." Lily says gleefully as she smiles wider.

Tamaki whimpers as he retreats to a random, new corner that is soon filled with mushrooms. He pokes one as he begins muttering to himself, occasionally casting pointed looks to the culprits who stand in the doorway smiling to each other. Haruhi simply sighs as the Hosts, excluding Kyoya, stand gathered in the small-ish room.

"Well, if you guys want breakfast, there are bowls of porridge for you at the table, if you wait much longer it will get too cold to eat." Lily says while turning away from them.

Cecilia nods and follows Lily from the room, Haruhi hastily runs after them as the twins, Tamaki and Honey rush out of the room to the dining hall. Takashi follows them at a leisurely pace. Lily grins at Cecilia who grins back.

"You didn't even seem bothered that you were in a room full of boys at all the entire time we tickled them for revenge!" Lily exclaims.

Cecilia's eyes widen as she realizes this; she quickly shrinks in on herself as she blushes, trying to hide behind her bangs. As her red hair falls into her line of view she remembers her task she needs to complete. She nods dumbly before looking at the two girls in front of her.

"Hey, I need help with changing my look, will you help me, please?" she asks quietly.

"Why do you need to change your looks? You look beautiful as you are, don't you know?" Lily tilts her head to the side with curious eyes.

Cecilia blushes at the compliment, "Thanks, but I need to because of the man chasing after me and my mom-"

"Your dad you mean?"

"Y-yes... wait, how did you know?" she looks up.

"Kyoya found out and told us. Anyway, you also told us yesterday after you freaked out. Do you not remember?"

Cecilia thinks back for a moment before nodding and sighing sadly. Haruhi looks at her worriedly.

"Of course we will help you. Come on then, I know just the people to help." she glances at Lily who rolls her eyes, knowing who she's talking about. Lily sighs and grabs Cecilia's wrists tightly, making her wince, but she continues to drag her from the hallway into the dining hall.

They stop in the doorway and Haruhi sighs, strolling into the room. She walks over to the twins, whispering in their ears before walking out of the room. Seconds later the twins join her as she walks over to Lily and Cecilia. The latter one's eyes widen and she hastily shakes her head to Lily who nods in reassurance and pushes her roughly over to the twins. Cecilia stops her movement before she can run into either of them and steps back.

"Don't worry, we don't bite and we won't hurt you, okay? You can trust us." Kaoru says. Hikaru nods after he takes note of Cecilia's hesitant aura.

Cecilia stands stiff as they circle her, eyeing her up and down like some hungry animal looking at its prey. She shivers noticeably and soon they stop, knowing just what to do.

They sigh in unison before speaking as one, "The only way that we can change you to look less like, you, is to make you look like a goth. With how you hate dresses anyway, it won't be that big of a deal."

Cecilia blinks as their words register slowly, "_Goth_?!"

They nod together and link their arms as a grin forms on their faces. The next thing Cecilia knows is she's being dragged away from her friends by the twins who share smirks as they drag their next fashion victim away. Cecilia is blindfolded and whisked away into a limo before arriving at the twin's mansion. Their mother is gone for the weekend so they don't have to worry about her freaking out for taking another person home randomly for 'fashion things' as their mother called it, even though she did that plenty herself.

They bring her to their room and plop her onto their bed as they take off the blindfold and hurry into their mother's work area where she creates new lines of clothing. Amongst their mother's scattered mess, they find black fabric and quickly work on creating something for Cecilia. But they freeze when they feel dainty hands resting on their shoulders. They turn swiftly and come face to face with their mom who smiles.

"Boys, what are you doing messing up my workplace?" she asks sweetly.

They pale and link arms as they reply too quickly, "Nothing!"

They watch as their mother nods and looks behind them, seeing what they were rummaging through.

"Black clothing? Seriously now, what were you doing?" her kind eyes blink skeptically at them.

They frown, knowing when to give up with their mom.

"We were looking for clothes for our friend, Cecilia, she needs a new look and Haruhi told us to help her. So we decided she needed a goth look-"

"Goth look? Boys, I'm so ashamed you would even think of that. You need colors! Let me see her, go fetch her now, go go." she waved her hand towards the door and kneeled down in her pile of cloth, looking for fabric to make clothing out of.

Hikaru and Kaoru wince as they come back to their room, knowing Cecilia will be freaking out, but when they open the door they find an empty room. They cast nervous glances at each other as they quickly spread out to look.

"Cecilia?! Where are you?" they call, cupping their hands to their mouths as they call out to their friend.

They search their entire room, tearing up racks up clothing in their closets and shelves with few books on them. Once they discover she's not in the room they quickly have their twin maids clean up their room as they rush around their house looking for her, calling her name and running around.

**Meanwhile with Cecilia:**

"I can't believe I got lost. I swear the bathroom was right across the hallway from their room..." she sighs, "Where in the heck did I turn again?"

She comes across an intersection in the halls and pales further. Finally she decides to wait until they find her, _if_ they find her. It was a pretty big place, who knows, maybe they will get lost too. She scoffs at her own thoughts, it's _their_ house they won't get lost! So, she sits down, leaning against a random wall as she duly scolds herself for not using their bathroom that was attached to their room.

Her mind vaguely notes the obnoxious yelling coming from somewhere in the house, but she herself is too caught up in her own thoughts to notice the commotion going on. And so, she sits there, waiting for who knows how long until she looks up at the ceiling, immensely bored, and begins counting the small bulges on the popcorn ceiling. She is startled by a loud yelp a distance away, but paying it no heed she restarts counting, seeing as she lost her place.

Elsewhere:

"Hikaru! Are you okay?!" Kaoru calls as a pan falls from the kitchen cupboard and hits Hikaru on the head, making him yelp loudly. The rest of the stack of pans falls to the floor, clanging against each other loudly and causing Kaoru to hurry.

Hikaru rubs his head, wincing at the small bump that grows. Kaoru soon comes running over to him and looks him over for injuries thoroughly before sighing in relief that it was only a bump on the head.

"Hikaru, you have to be more careful." Kaoru says, his voice laced with worry.

"Sorry; any luck finding her yet?" he changes the subject quickly.

Kaoru sighs lightly at his dear older brother but shakes his head to answer his question.

"Where could she be? We were only gone for a little while..."

They sigh but soon perk up when they hear their mother calling them. The two swiftly put the pans away before they rush to see what their mom needs. Cecilia finds herself face to face with a tall woman who looks awfully like the twins. She pales, knowing almost instantly that this is their mother. She stands up quickly and bows deeply in respect, keeping her head lowered. The woman laughs and calls for her sons loudly, making Cecilia wince slightly.

"Dear child, raise your head, you are not in trouble. I suspect you are Cecilia, the daughter of my new client, Mika; and friend of my sons?"

Cecilia nods but realizes something, "Actually my mother changed her name; it's now Ruse Oakenbur, miss."

"Ah, I see. I won't ask. But did you get lost?"

Cecilia regretfully nods at her, making her smile, "Not to worry, it happens often to guests. Now where are my boys?"

Moments later the two run up but slow down once they see their mom. They stop in front of her, noticing Cecilia standing next to her silently, they pale at this.

"I found her. She was sitting here in the hallway gazing at the ceiling boredly. Where were you two?"

"Looking for her, she seemed-" Hikaru starts.

"-to have gotten lost after wandering from our room." Kaoru finishes.

"Yes. I would have thought you would have known better as to lock the door."

They pale as their mother laughs lightly, having done that many times. They nod and follow their mom to her room, the twins drag Cecilia behind them so she doesn't get lost again. The next few hours consist of the twin's mom, who Cecilia later learns is named Yuzuha Hitachiin, measuring her and picking out clothes and fabric, putting together a goth look after her son's constant pleading to do so. Hikaru and Kaoru stand by, leaning against each other as they watch their mother work on their 'project'. Once Cecilia's clothes are pieced together Yuzuha ushers the twins from the room so Cecilia can change. After she was dressed, the twins thank their mom and drag their project back to their room where they call their twin maids again.

The girls smile and bow in sync the second they enter the room, "What can we do for you Hikaru- and Kaoru-sama?" they incline.

The Hitachiins merely smile, "Bring us our kit."

"Right away sirs!" they cheer and disappear from the room instantaneously.

Cecilia pales, picking at her dark clothing in disdain as the twins look at their mom's work, thinking of what they could do to make her look more... dark. They share a silent look and nod in agreement as their maids hand them their kit then disappear again.

The twins circle her once again, making her stand stiff and jerk her head around to follow them the best she can though it's hard since there are two and they circle her in opposite directions. Finally they stand in front of her, scissors in hand with hair dye too. Cecilia closes her eyes as they grin and begin working. About an hour later she reopens her eyes to look in the mirror they brought for her and she gasps, whether in awe or disgust, she is unsure.

Now, instead of bright red hair, she has black hair with a single streak of red going down her bangs. Her bangs are now cut neatly to go across her forehead and her hair is cut at an angled bob. Her newly made clothes are black and grey; a light weight, black jacket goes over a grey top that has splashes of green of varying shades on it in random places. She wears black slip ons and a short black skirt that ends just above her knees. Fish-net leggings adorn her pale legs and she notices a single chain that runs through a random belt loop on the back of her skirt, hidden under her jacket, that sits slanted on her hips.

She looks at the twins in awe at their skills. They grin and hang off each other as they take in their new work of art. Their first experience with dark clothing and styles and they have to admit, they did a pretty good job. People won't even know who she is! Cecilia slowly smiles before running and hugging them tightly. They hesitantly hug her back, not expecting her to do that.

Quickly though, she lets go and steps back.

"Wow, thank you guys so much! I don't recognize myself, well except for my eyes. But thank you! Now you just need to do my mom!"

They chuckle and shake their heads, "No can do, our mom is going to do that, they work together technically so they'll have plenty of time. Now let's go back before they start to worry too much."

With that the twins latch onto either arm of Cecilia and tug her out to the limo, looking like a completely different person then when she came there.

* * *

**It was a decent chapter, but I hope you like it. I sort of rushed on it so I could finish before I left for a block party. By the way, Happy Fourth of July! Also, any errors if found, point them out please. I didn't really have time to go through it thoroughly so I'm not sure if there are errors though I kind of checked as I went along. Any ideas for upcoming chapters, let me know! I need the inspiration and would love any advice, criticisms, etc. Thank you for reading and please review! Also, I know it's kind of late since I should have written this at the top, but I want to dedicate this chapter to YaoiRPAlley for the wonderful review that urged me to write and finish this chapter as fast as I did. Thank you!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	10. Loyalty

"I can't believe you forgot that there were people coming today to repair the windows!" Haruhi mutters, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Tamaki pouts, "Kyoya~! Haruhi is being mean!" he cries.

Kyoya sighs, pushing his glasses up his nose; they glint dangerously and Tamaki quickly snaps his mouth shut, retreating to his mushroom corner within seconds. Lily and Haruhi stand by the double doors, holding them open for the window repairmen who carry in windows and begin installing them steadily. There are many, many people traveling in and out of the hotel, carrying large pieces of glass with toolboxes and various other equipment to install all the windows.

Kyoya takes notes of the people and their work, idly firing people who can't do their jobs correctly without breaking something or tripping on the equipment on the ground. Mori and Honey-senpai are nowhere to be found, probably having left to train for an upcoming match or something. Lily shouts to Haruhi above the noise of drills.

"They are taking a really long time! Do you think they are okay?!"

Haruhi glances at her and shrugs, "Who knows? The twins are sometimes unpredictable so I can't be sure."

Lily groans; that didn't make her feel any better. Haruhi was one to be blunt and honest, not really the caring type of girl that made you feel better on purpose, she normally did it on accident, but even then it normally only made others uncomfortable. With a sigh they go back to watching the people filing in and out of the doors. Molly, Derek and Liam watch from afar, this is the most people they have seen in awhile, and with them bustling about like busy ants, they are rather interesting to watch. Or so that's what they said when Kyoya noticed them standing in the lobby staring at everyone blankly.

After about two hours all of the windows are repaired except for the ones on the very top floor. Kyoya pushes his glasses up his nose and sighs as Haruhi and Lily finally let the door close, their arms numb from staying in one position for long amounts of time. He absently marks off a box on the list Ruse gave to him so he could keep track of it, and scans it to see what else they could do. Finally his glasses glint as he swiftly takes out his phone and dials a number, bringing it to his ear once it began ringing.

Lily and Haruhi watch him silently as he speaks in a professional, calm voice and makes a deal with the person on the other line. After a few moments he snaps his phone shut and returns it to his pocket, looking over at them before glancing at Tamaki who looks over at him with big blue eyes. Kyoya sighs.

"I just contacted the chief executive of a carpenter business and he said they will be by in an hour to repair the fifth floor." Kyoya speaks calmly and loudly so they can hear him.

Haruhi nods and they begin walking to the kitchen for lunch when the front doors burst open and the twins holler.

"We present to you Cecilia's new look!" they exclaim in synch.

The four turn around and do a retake to make sure they are seeing things correctly. Lily suddenly gasps loudly and darts over to Cecilia who murmurs something to her once Lily flings herself into a tackling hug. Lily laughs and then glares at the twins half-heartedly.

"You lost her in your house? You two are terrible of keeping track of things sometimes!" Lily jokes, though she is serious.

Kaoru and Hikaru wave her off with smirks. Haruhi takes in her friend's new look but then speaks while rolling her eyes.

"You realize at school she still has to wear the school uniform right? Just because you gave her new clothes doesn't mean she gets to wear them at school." she says offhandedly.

The twins pale, realizing this now, and look at Cecilia who shrugs though her hands creep up and grasp her upper arms firmly until her knuckles turn white.

"Don't worry, you will still look different and Kyoya will let the staff members know about your change of name and records. Plus you can simply add things to your uniform if you need." Haruhi chimes, casting Kyoya a you-better-do-it-or-else, look.

Kyoya's glasses flash and he subtly glares at Haruhi but nods a moment later. Cecilia merely nods and hurries off to her room while the rest walk to the dining hall. After a while Cecilia comes back but dressed in a tank top and capris, rid of the fishnets and the slight make-up they put on her. She sits down, Porky sits under the table near her feet, and begins eating though she occasionally plays with her new hair. Molly, Derek and Liam look at her, taking in her new look until Derek speaks up suspiciously.

"Why did you change your appearance?"

Cecilia looks up quickly, slightly choking on her mouthful of turkey sandwich, before swallowing.

"W-what?"

"Why did you suddenly up and disappear only to come back looking completely different?"

"Oh. W-well I w-wanted to c-change my look... that's all..." she glances down at Porky who nuzzles her leg, sensing her distress.

Derek glares at her but drops the subject after receiving a jab in the ribs from his wife. Lily elbows Cecilia and she looks up at her. Lily offers a smile, Cecilia weakly smiles back. Soon they finish eating and leave the room, only to come back within the next ten minutes to guide the carpenters to the fifth floor. Lily sneaks off, dragging Haruhi and Cecilia after her into Cecilia's room where she locks the door and pulls out Cecilia's school uniform.

"What are you doing?" Cecilia asks as Lily begins giggling madly.

"Turning your uniform into a girlier goth thing! Duh~!" she sing songs gleefully.

Cecilia and Haruhi glance at each other with slight worry but shrug and help Lily morph her uniform into something... well... different. After a few long hours, the girls step back from their work and smile in triumph. They managed to take apart Cecilia's clothes that the twins made her, along with some of her black clothing that she had, and made an underskirt, along with other things.

The black silk skirt lies under the original dress in place of the white underskirt that went with it. They switched out the red ribbon for a thin black one and made more black under layers that made the yellow skirt look a little too bright in comparison. Lily sewed on the fishnet on the trim of the yellow skirt and along the trim of the sleeves, having taken off the white cuffs. The chain from Cecilia's earlier outfit was placed neatly on the waist stitches along with another thin black ribbon that tied into a small, neat bow. A long string of black ribbon laid next to the dress, made for Cecilia to tie in her hair or somewhere.

Lily squeals in excitement and Cecilia and Haruhi smile widely at the success of making it look cute yet gothic like. Suddenly Haruhi gasps, as if remembering something, and she shortly leaves the room after nearly breaking her wrist trying to pry the door open, only to realize it was locked. She comes back a little while later with a large stack of papers. Haruhi hands Cecilia the work and smiles innocently.

"I got the teachers to give me all of your homework in the two weeks you were gone! This is all your homework and since this week is thanksgiving break, you can finish it then! But I suggest you start now while you still have time before Lily and I help you get used to guys, and before they," she motions to the loud ruckus in the lobby, "make you start cleaning the fifth floor once that level is fixed up."

Cecilia nods and puts the stack, which is only about three inches tall, on her bed then fishes a pencil out of her school brief case. Cecilia picks up the stack and Lily and Haruhi follow her out to the dining hall where she starts on her homework. The two girls chime in to help her whenever she comes across something she missed in class during the time she was gone. After a half hour Molly shoos them from the room as she sets the table for dinner.

The three girls laugh as they walk back to Cecilia's shared room to set aside her homework. They take their time coming back to the table, and aren't surprised when they see everyone, including now Ruse, who was previously at work, eating already. Cecilia plops herself down next to Liam who smiles brightly through a mouthful of steak slathered in A1 sauce. She smiles back and chortles quietly at his bad-mannerisms.

Hikaru and Kaoru talk animatedly about random things as they eat, occasionally dragging Haruhi into the conversations, though she promptly rolls her eyes and ignores them once it gets boring or repetitive. Lily speaks loudly to Cecilia who smiles and chirps small comments every once in a while. Tamaki talks just as loudly as Lily does to Kyoya who does his best at ignoring him, but relents to listen with a defeated sigh when Tamaki repeatedly pokes or nudges him until he answers. Takashi and Mitsukuni eat while talking lightly about their recent kendo match.

Once dinner is over, they get up and wash their dishes, much to the dislike of the Hosts who are used to having this things done for them, though most don't complain, then leave and go check on the people repairing the fifth floor. Kyoya speaks in a business manner to the man in charge of the workers and the man updates Kyoya on everything. Soon the captain goes back to shouting out orders and Kyoya walks over to the Hosts.

"He said that they will need to be here tomorrow as well. It's not that there is a lot of damage, but the floors need detailed work and the walls will need to have new wallpaper put on to cover up the charred areas that aren't in any need of actual repairs." Kyoya says.

They nod and watch the workers for a while before getting bored and going back downstairs. Cecilia, Lily and Haruhi set themselves up again at the dining table and Cecilie manages to finish her homework before midnight. Lily and Cecilia go to bed while the Hosts have a meeting in the lobby room. Honey and Mori lean silently against the wall while the others stand. Finally Kyoya sighs; shoving his glasses up his nose to prevent them from sliding off, he faces his fellow Hosts seriously.

"There is no reason for us to be helping them, it costs a lot of money to pay the workers and I doubt you want to pay more than what we will already. If we stay, we will be dragged further into a mess that wasn't ours to begin with. I fully suggest we drop out of her little, 'project' before it goes any further."

They share glances of doubt, but they all silently agree that it wasn't their mess to begin with, so they shouldn't be the ones to help clean it up. Haruhi sighs, breaking the growing tension.

"I agree Kyoya-senpai, but we can't back out now, it is too late to do that. I am willing to help her in anyway I can, even if it's only to provide support and help her catch up on homework, but I won't back down now."

Tamaki grins, "I agree with Haruhi! We can't leave Cecilia alone while she's practically helpless! I will stand by her and help Haruhi help her!"

Haruhi rolls her eyes at their king. Honey jumps up, "They're right! I'm not leaving her either! We have to help her so she's not afraid to be around other guys and so she can protect herself if her dad ever shows up again!"

Kaoru and Hikaru smile and nod as one, "We aren't leaving either! No way are we going to back out of something like this!"

Mori nods his agreement with the others and Kyoya heaves a deep sigh, trying to calm himself; his eyebrow twitches and he refrains from frowning, but he struggles and his lip dives downwards without his consult. He quickly covers up his disappointment at losing more money that could be spent on cakes and snacks for the Host Club.

"Alright then..."

"So we are going to keep helping them?" Haruhi inquires, looking at Kyoya curiously.

He nods once while biting back an irritable sigh.

"Alright then!" Hikaru and Kaoru cheer and high five each other.

"Takashi!" Mitsukuni suddenly exclaims.

Takashi looks down at his cousin and 'hm's in question.

"We should teach Cecilia-chan to fight so she can protect herself from creeps!" Mitsukuni says with a tired smile.

Takashi nods and they drift off to bed as the others soon follow.

* * *

**Hey, so sorry for taking so long to update. I've been overly depressed and had a lack of inspiration until just recently thanks to sen whitefox and mako red demon. So thank you, you two! You guys helped a lot and sort of helped me become a bit happier with our conversations, so thanks again. I also want to thank others who reviewed and specifically the Guest who didn't have their glasses. :) I was originally planning on changing Cecilia's outfit a bit, but you solidified the thought and gave me inspiration on what to do exactly! Thanks for that! **

**I want to also thank killjarkidranger for your continued support and reviews to almost every chapter! I seriously appreciate all the reviews and suggestions from everyone, so thanks! Love you all! And, what adventure do you want them to go on over thanksgiving break? I'm not sure if they celebrate it, but it was the first holiday that came to mind before Halloween so, I'm terribly sorry if it's not correct but you're gonna have to deal with it. **

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	11. The Hot Springs

**Okay, before I start off this chapter, I want to let everyone know that I made a mistake with planning, but we are going to pretend that I did it on purpose, so Halloween is skipped, but this scene will be better so get over yourselves. Also, thanks to some pretty wonderful people (the people who took the time to review, you know who you are! (hint hint)) I came up with a couple ideas after PMing them, and we tossed a couple ideas around until I managed to come up with a solid chapter and a few ideas for future chapters too. I want to thank them specifically, so thank you:**

**otakuchamasherlockluvr, YaoiRPAlley, and sen whitefox mako red demon.** **The others who reviewed and showed continued support, thank you too, I appreciate it from the deepest part of my heart and soul. Some of the reviews actually made me have to try and stop myself from crying, though in the end it was futile because the words of inspiration touched me deeply. Turns out, all I needed was to unwind, I was tense and trying to force myself to come up with ideas, but that obviously didn't work, so I won't do it again. Thanks to those who gave me ideas on how to come up with ideas for the story, it helped me realize what I was doing wrong.**

**I appreciate the readers and the reviews. Finding that someone took the time to let me know what they thought of my story makes my day and since I have been unusually depressed lately (though probably due to not being able to hang out with my one, true friend since she never seems to answer her phone), the reviews make me feel better and help me, even a simple, one worded review is nice opposed to none at all. I'm not trying to milk the reviews out of you all though! And wow, that is a phrase I rarely use...**

**ANYWAY! Now, after being all emotion-like, on with the chapter! In the future, any ideas are gratefully welcomed too. I will try to mention you, but if I forget, don't freak, just remind me if it truly bothers you, and I'll be sure to add you to the next chapter's notes. Well, without further ado (don't know why people say that) enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

That Monday Ruse wakes them up bright and early for no reason except to annoy them, or so they think. But really, she has a surprise to get their minds, mostly Cecilia's, off of negative things. She gathers them into the lobby where she then forces them to go home and pack clothing for two days worth, then swimming suits. She makes it pretty obvious, but she can't help it, they need to pack their own things. Lily and Haruhi smile at Ruse's attempt to get everyone to go swimming, but they know that ultimately, the Hosts will make sure they swim at a private beach.

Ruse huffs when they come back an hour or so later with chairs and bags overflowing with swimming things. Kyoya huffs quietly to himself as he tallies up the expenses to swim at one of their private beaches, though it would be free, they tend to buy a lot of things there, no matter what. Cecilia giggles at her mother as she runs around grabbing sunscreen and whatnot, stuffing the supplies into a bag she hauls over her shoulder.

Finally Ruse skids to a stop and checks her bag to make sure she has everything, then, she looks at the ecstatic group of teens. Putting her fingers in her mouth, she whistles, getting their attention.

"Alright everyone! If we are going to make it there before the crowd then we are going to need to leave now! Grab your things and follow me."

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru and Kaoru tilt their heads to the side in question, "We are going to one of our private beaches, aren't we?"

Ruse blinks, "What? No! We are going to a beach that's open to the public!"

"Excuse me, but we don't go to beaches that aren't our own..." Hikaru replies slyly.

Ruse frowns, "Well you are going to one now. Get off of your royal thrones and get down here with the rest of us folk."

They shake their heads until Haruhi steps in, "It will be a good experience for you."

Tamaki coos at her cuteness and hugs her, much to her dislike. But the others stay firm to their resolve and manage to drag Ruse, Haruhi and Cecilia to one of their private beaches. It was getting chilly, so in the end, they take a turn at the last minute, and travel to a private hot springs. The sudden heat made them shiver after being in the cold and they quickly curse the abrupt change in temperature. But, as they wrap towels around themselves then step into the steamy water, they are glad they came here instead, it was just as relaxing, if not more.

The four girls sit together, laughing and chatting idly about random things, though Haruhi and Cecilia mostly talk about school and homework or things that need to be done before break is over. They are separated from the males by a wooden fence though they sit as far away from it as possible since it has small holes in it, allowing any guy to sneak a peek at them if they moved close enough; even though they know the Hosts aren't ones to do that, it's better to be safe than sorry.

The six boys who relax back against the smooth rocks of the hot spring barely utter a word, instead choosing to listen to the girls talk on the other side of the fence. Honey sits close to his cousin and watches the others, all of whom are oblivious to their feelings towards Haruhi, though Kaoru seems to have an interest in Cecilia. Suddenly they hear a screech and they jolt, getting on their feet in seconds and splashing over to the fence, calling out.

"Are you girls okay?!" Tamaki shouts.

"What's wrong?!" Kaoru yells frantically.

"Hey! Answer us!" Hikaru bellows when they don't answer.

Highly amused laughter startles them, though they understand quickly that the four were playing a trick on them, or that the girls were simply playing.

"Sorry! But Lily splashed us! Didn't mean… *laughter* … to scare you so badly!" Haruhi shouts in between snickers.

They sigh and go back to where they were lounging before. An hour goes by before they finally get out, feeling slightly dizzy from the heat. As they dry off in their separate changing areas; luckily they were sectioned off as well; they are silent, and quickly change into their clothes, discarding their used towels in the basket near the door. Then, they meet up outside of the place and decide where they want to go next.

After a heated debate, they agree on going to lunch at a fancy cafe near the hot springs. Kyoya tells the driver where to take them as the rest climb into the limo again. Slowly, the driver pulls out of the parking lot. Ten minutes later they get out of the car and walk into the cafe where they are seated immediately.

"So Haruhi," Hikaru starts.

Haruhi hums lightly in response, silently telling his to go on.

"Where are you going to go for college in two years?"

Haruhi raises an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

He shrugs, "Just starting conversation, I guess."

Mitsukuni shares a knowing look with Takashi. Ruse watches the pair with a bored interest, as she decides what to order. Cecilia and Lily share a look as well and then they smile teasingly at Haruhi.

"Yeah Haruhi, where do you plan on going?" Cecilia asks.

"I'm sure you're going to go somewhere near Hikaru, aren't you?" Lily grins mischieviously.

Haruhi blinks, "No,"

Lily rolls her eyes; leave it to Haruhi to not get what they were implying. Hikaru blushes lightly, coughs into his fist and turns his head slightly away while trying to hide his ears which burn pink. Cecilia giggles at this and Kaoru joins in with her laughter.

"I was actually planning on going to America to study for college." Haruhi says thoughtfully.

Just like that, as if someone flicked off a light switch, everyone's moods go south at the idea of her going overseas for college. Tamaki splutters once he gets over the shock.

"What?! You can't go overseas to study Haruhi! You have to stay here with daddy!"

"No I don't. I can go wherever I want once I've graduated. My dad is even helping me save up enough money for it."

"Good for you. At least we have two more years, almost, before you decide for certain if you want to go!" Lily exclaims, causing them to nod along.

"Yeah, at least." Haruhi says.

A waitress walks over to them then and takes their orders; they settle for muffins and salads with peppermint tea. As they wait, they talk about what they want to do when they graduate, though Honey and Mori are already taking over their family's martial arts studio. Soon enough their food is served and they sip their tea while continuing their conversations.

"But you know, I was thinking…" Cecilia murmurs softly.

"Oh no, we all know how bad that is for you to do!" Lily teases, laughing at her own joke.

Cecilia playfully slaps Lily's arm but bites her lip nervously afterwards.

"Well, what is it?" Kyoya asks.

She sighs, "What'll happen when he breaks out of prison?"

"When who-... oh… you mean _him_." Hikaru sneers.

Cecilia nods and Ruse sighs.

Kyoya's glasses glint and he frowns, "He won't escape from my family's prison. I can guarantee you that."

Ruse quickly shakes her head, but she's too late. Cecilia's head snaps up towards Kyoya and with a vicious glare she speaks in a low voice.

"He _will_ escape from your prison, once he has enough motivation he will. It doesn't matter where he is, he will find a way. My father… he is a ex military commander, and for a good reason too. He trains himself to escape even the most highly guarded places, but because of the things he's seen… he has a messed up mind…" she cuts herself off and glares at her hands which rest in her lap, clenched tightly.

They sit in a stunned silence. Finally, they resume eating and finish quickly though the air around them is filled with tension so thick you could probably take a sword to it and still would have trouble cutting through. Kyoya pays and they leave, getting up swiftly and moving to the limo in dead silence. On the ride back, the tension lessens, but only they get back they check up on the carpenters and find that the floor is nearly done, only a single room left to do before they are finished.

Haruhi, Lily and Cecilia sit in silence in Cecilia's room, sitting on her bed as they face the open window which allows a cool breeze to float past them, rustling their hair. Lily scoots closer to Cecilia and sends Haruhi a look, one that takes her a moment to understand. Haruhi moves in on the other side of their friend and they hug her, squishing her in between them.

Cecilia giggles lightly and after a moment hugs them back though awkwardly.

"You can't be all depressed about this, you know? It won't do you any good. Kyoya's police force know what they are doing, and Mitsukuni trained them all personally, so it will take your father a while to get past them all, no matter what type of motivation he has." Lily murmurs softly in her ear.

Haruhi nods, "She's right. Kyoya's family may not be all that nice, but they are fierce and won't allow someone to get hurt once they are in their care. Which you are, in case you didn't know."

Cecilia nods with a weak laugh, tears glide down her cheeks and she struggles to move her arms but finds it useless. The tears drip down her face and Lily and Haruhi hug her tighter in response.

"Don't cry Cecilia!" Lily says, nuzzling her friend's neck which makes her laugh from the ticklish sensation.

Lily's eyes gleam and before either of her friends know it, they are being tickled nonstop by their hysterically laughing friend. The three girls laugh as they tickle each other but soon become tired and their movements slow. They are found an hour later curled up together on the bed, holding hands with soft smiles on their faces.

* * *

**Sorry for the shortness of the chapter but, I'm back! Still depressed and stuff but getting better since school is starting in exactly seven days! I absolutely love school, it's like my second home, and with my friends there, I will get past all this sadness and icky emotions. Thank you for reading and please review! Reviews make me happy which inspire me to write! :)**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	12. Waking Moment

The next morning, Haruhi wakes up only to find herself on the ground, sprawled out with her bangs tickling her eyelashes. Her stomach, she soon notices, feels like it's tearing itself apart in a desperate attempt to find food; it growls loudly and her stomach clenches painfully. Her bladder seems about to burst and she licks her lips only to find her tongue is dry, as are her lips and her mouth. Haruhi gets up and rushes into the bathroom to relieve herself while trying to get saliva back into her mouth, only to fail.

Once she's done, she washes her hands thoroughly before cupping them under the cool water and slurping up as much as she can, swallowing painfully due to her throat being so dry. The second her thirst is accommodated for, she splashes water onto her face, and wipes away the sleep from her eyes. Then, finally satisfied with herself, she walks out of the bathroom and covers her mouth immediately with her hands.

Before her, she sees Lily and Cecilia sleeping, but oddly. Cecilia sleeps soundly with her legs and hips on the bed, her upper body hangs limp over the side of the bed and her hair pools around her head on the ground. Lily though, sleeps much more comfortably, with her arms and legs spread out wide as if doing jumping jacks. One leg pushes against Cecilia's which causes her to slide slowly off the bed. Lily has the blankets wrapped around her as well as the pillows which lay around her head or underneath her body.

Haruhi turns away in a final attempt to stop her bubbling laughter but fails and she doubles over with loud giggles that quickly turn into full, outright laughter. Cecilia jerks away, causing her body to slide all the way off the bed and she lands painfully on her head though the rest of her body topples over, slamming her back onto the ground. She groans and stills her movements as a sharp pain shoots up and down her spine.

Lily gasps and sits up suddenly, her arms and legs spasming from the out of the blue loudness. She turns and glares sleepily at Haruhi who laughs loudly before quieting down and moving over to see if Cecilia is alright.

"Ugh, that really hurt. Remind me never to share a bed with Lily again…" Cecilia groans as she slowly sits up, hand moving to her pulsing head.

"Eh he… sorry about that." Lily smiles sheepishly.

Cecilia waves her off and allows Haruhi to help her stand.

"So, how many more days until we go back to school again?" Cecilia asks once her world isn't spinning rapidly.

"Two now I think." Haruhi mumbles, pulling her shirt off to change into more comfortable clothing since they fell asleep in the clothes they wore yesterday.

"Say Haruhi, you are starting to fill out a little bit." Lily says, slipping out of her pants.

"I am?"

"Yeah, just a little bit though. You can only tell when you are faced a certain way." Lily chirps as she pulls out a long sleeved, turtleneck, pastel pink dress from Cecilia's closet.

The seasons were changing quickly and the air was frigid already. Haruhi rolls her eyes as she dresses slowly into a long sleeved, pastel green sweater with grey sweatpants. Cecilia smiles at them before stripping and rummaging through her closet as well. But then, the door swings open and Tamaki bursts into the room, followed by the twins.

Lily, and Cecilia shriek, though Haruhi merely glares at them, putting their arms in front of their chests though it doesn't do Lily and Cecilia much good seeing as they have fairly large busts. The three men blush brilliantly and gape at them.

"Get out!" Lily screams, "Get out, get out, get out! You're such perverts!"

They snap out of it and quickly slam the door shut behind them. The three girls quickly get dressed then, making sure they lock the door. Cecilia pulls out the first thing she finds, which happens to be a long sleeved dress that is a pale, baby blue. With a groan of complaint, she tugs it on and then unlocks the door, walking out, followed by Lily and Haruhi who glare down disapprovingly at the three boys who stand at the end of the hallway, each blushing still in embarrassment.

The trio walk to the lobby, finding themselves walking into a meeting of sorts. Honey, Mori, Kyoya, and Ruse stand close together in a straight line with serious expressions on their faces. The three stop and share glances before curiously asking what was going on. Kyoya answers while pushing his glasses up his nose, a habit that is hard to break once it starts.

"Honey and Mori are going to start training Cecilia today; they have already gone over the details with Ruse and she is going to join you, so you both learn self-defense." he explains crisply.

Cecilia nods and locks eyes with her mother, who nods and speaks a million words with her eyes. Cecilia stiffens immediately and nods back curtly, but lowers her gaze when questioning looks are sent in their direction. In simple words, her mother said, '_We are learning how to fight because he will escape and I want us to be able to protect ourselves as much as possible_.'

She understood the answer and after a second, she made up her mind. She was going to work hard and pay close attention to everything she was taught, then use the information given to her to perfect her self-defense as quick as possible. In previous years, Ruse and Cecilia took many self-defense lessons but their instructors weren't nearly as strong as Honey or Mori, so they would learn a lot more from the two teens than past coaches.

Haruhi and Lily exchange a worried glance but don't say a word as Cecilia follows her mother and they walk out of the hotel behind Mori and Honey.

* * *

**Extremely short chapter, sorry, but I wanted to post something, so this is it. High school takes up more time than I previously thought it would, and with marching band, well I hardly have any time to myself... Oh well, I like it. Hope this was a decent chapter, see you guys in the next chapter!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	13. Escaped

Cecilia pants heavily as she bends over her knees, beads of sweat roll down her face and neck, soaking her clothing. Ruse doesn't fair any better; she sits on the ground while sipping water, trying to calm her racing heart and get her breathing under control again as she pants just as heavily in between swallows. Mitsukuni and Takashi stand a ways in front of them, watching calmly as the duo recover after three hours of intense training, though only warm-ups. The first thirty minutes, the two were forced to run laps, that is for them to get in stamina so they could run away. The self-defense is for if the person chasing them catches up and they are forced to fight.

After a few moments, Mori calls them back and they practice more jabs and dodges. Cecilia learns everything very quickly and gets the basics under her belt within a few minutes of repetitive drills. Ruse follows close behind her, but her aging body slows her down slightly. But, after a few hours more, they are forced to stop in fear of either of the girl's passing out from overheating or exhaustion since they haven't built up a lot of stamina yet.

Cecilia and Ruse sit down, sipping water as they watch Mori and Honey spar vigorously. The two are in awe as they watch the cousins fight each other. Ten minutes later the cousins stop sparing, Honey being victorious though it seems like a tie, at least to Cecilia and Ruse. Mitsukuni bounces over to them with a happy smile.

"Do you guys want to go back now?" Mitsukuni asks sweetly, tilting his head to the side.

Cecilia nods and Ruse smiles in agreement. So, they drive back to the hotel. When they walk into the hotel doors, they are bombarded by the twins whom fuss over Cecilia, making sure she is alright. Cecilia smiles and laughs at their expressions, though looks around for Haruhi and Lily. At last, Haruhi waves her over to her from a doorway and Cecilia excuses herself politely.

"How was it?" Haruhi asks as she looks her friend over for injuries quickly.

"It was fine. Gosh though, they are tough even though they went easy on us. And they sparred once my mom and I finished, and it was insane! I swear they didn't even break a sweat when teaching us,"

Haruhi nods, "Yeah, well that's Mitsukuni and Takashi for you. They just wanted to be sure that you two would be able to keep up so they went really easy on you,"

Cecilia rolls her eyes but nods in agreement.

"So, when is dinner?"

Haruhi shrugs, "I have no idea,"

"Well, let's find out, shall we?"

Haruhi nods and they walk together to the dining room to find Molly putting plates out on the table. When the two girls walk in Molly looks up and smiles at them.

"Cecilia, be a dear and go take a quick shower before you eat, okay? Tell your mom to do the same."

Cecilia nods and walks out of the room, looking for her mom. Rounding the corner she bumps into Ruse, and after a hasty apology, informs her mother that Molly would be thankful if they took a shower before they ate. With a laugh, Ruse nods and walks to their room to grab a change of clothes before going into a different bathroom. Cecilia smiles as she follows her mom to their room.

After the two's showers, they make their way to the dining room where everyone else sits, looking at Kyoya with wide, startled eyes. Kyoya's face betrays nothing, yet his eyes hold a gleam of unease. Cecilia and Ruse sit down and look between all the faces of their friends.

"What's wrong?" Ruse asks after a while when nobody says anything.

Kyoya looks at them, sparing a single, worried glance at Cecilia, then he focuses his eyes on Ruse, and they stare at each other intently. He swallows and pushes his glasses up his nose with a visibly shaking finger.

"Ruse… your husband… he… how to put this?" he gulps and waits until he regains some composure before speaking, "... Ruse… your husband escaped from my family's prison…"

Just like that, a switch was flipped.

* * *

**Extremely short, I'm sorry. But I haven't had time, like none at all, so I'm updating now while I do have time. Hope it was, decent. Next chapter should be longer. And Happy Halloween! Muahahaha!**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	14. Ruse's Plan

**Previously:**

"What's wrong?" Ruse asks after a while when nobody says anything.

Kyoya looks at them, sparing a single, worried glance at Cecilia, then he focuses his eyes on Ruse, and they stare at each other intently. He swallows and pushes his glasses up his nose with a visibly shaking finger.

"Ruse… your husband… he… how to put this?" he gulps and waits until he regains some composure before speaking, "... Ruse… your husband escaped from my family's prison…"

Just like that, a switch was flipped.

~O.o.O~

Ruse abruptly stands up, knocking her chair backwards; it falls to the ground with a loud thump. Cecilia's face pales until she is as white as a sheet of paper, and slowly, she caves in on herself. Her hands, shaking badly, raise up slowly until they clamp over her ears, her eyes wide, and then she begins screaming, as if waking from a terrible nightmare. Her eyes shut tightly suddenly and she shakes her head back and forth quickly, trying to dispel the awful news from her mind, that or knock herself unconscious.

"What do you _mean_ he escaped from your family's prison?! You said you had the best security… no… no no no!" Ruse pales suddenly, "This means that he has a reason to escape… which means he's going to kill us…"

"WHAT?!" they yelp, standing up as well.

Molly ushers Liam out of the room though he already heard enough to be terrified. Mitsukuni glowers at them, then speaks in a soft yet demanding voice.

"What do you mean he is going to kill you?"

Ruse shakes her head and touches Cecilia's back. Cecilia jerks backwards, falling out of her chair, and her screaming stops at once, having risen to such a high pitch that when it stops, it echoes. Kaoru watches Cecilia, his heart aching for her in a way it's only ever ached for Hikaru when he was in pain. This surprises him, but he realizes, slowly, that he's falling in love with the red head. Haruhi and Lily quickly rush over to Cecilia and kneel next to her, wiping the tears from her cheeks that flow freely from her watery eyes.

The rest of the Host Club watch in sad amazement as Haruhi and Lily console the sobbing girl whom shakes violently in fear. Ruse stands over the three girls, now in shock. She blinks slowly and then kneels down next to her daughter, drawing her into a tight hug. Haruhi and Lily share a knowing look and stand, stepping back as one to give the mother and daughter room.

Cecilia turns in Ruse's arms and chokes on a loud sob, burying herself in her mother's embrace. Ruse tightens her hug and rests her chin on the top of Cecilia's head.

"Don't worry now child. We will make it out alive as long as we take precautions. Go to school with your friends, and warn your teachers, the same as last time this happened…"

Cecilia shifts and looks up with terrified eyes, "But what about you? W-what are you going to do?"

Ruse smiles reassuringly, "I'm going to solve our problem with some help,"

"No! Don't you dare do that! You know what'll happen to you if you do-"

"Shush now. I will be fine,"

Kyoya and Tamaki glance at each other, one with a look of confusion, the other with a look of concern. When they look back, they are surprised to see Cecilia standing up with an angry expression plastered on her face.

"I won't allow you to do that! Mom, he will kill you if you fail to get him before he sees you,"

"I know, now let's eat before it gets cold,"

"Don't change the subject! Mom! S-"

"Shut. Up." Ruse growls, glaring at Cecilia who glares back after the initial surprise.

"Ruse-" Tamaki starts when he sees the pain in Cecilia's eyes.

"No, Tamaki. I will be fine, and I know what I'm doing. I've been planning it for some time, so it will be okay," Ruse states with a slight tremble in her voice.

"But, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Ce-"

"She doesn't know what she's talking about. All she ever does is talk about how she wishes she could do something to get revenge on her father who did terrible things to both of us, but she never does _anything_! I'm going to _do_ something! And she won't stand in my way because she is a coward!"

"Ruse!" they gasp out.

Cecilia lowers her head, fresh tears streaming from her eyes, and with a loud scream, she twirls around and dashes out of the room. Wide eyes turn to Ruse who avoids eye contact guiltily.

"Why?" is all Hikaru and Kaoru manage to mumble.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I need to do,"

"And that is?"

"I have to… I have to kill him before he kills us,"

* * *

**Short chapter again, oh well. I suddenly got a burst of inspiration and wrote it down then lost it and couldn't think of anything else to write. But at least it's something. School is so much fun, I love it. And there are such cute couples, you know when you imagine a couple and then it actually happens? Well that happened, and now my friend is dating my other friend, and they are sooooo cute! Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, it was just to get the plot line going a bit. Now we are getting closer to the end! I can see the end, and have half the epilogue written! Have a good night/day.**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~ **


	15. Going Back

"Are you crazy? You would go to jail! Oh… that's what Cecilia was talking about then…" Lily says.

Ruse nods and picks up her chair then sits down and begins eating the soup that was prepared by Molly who walks back in the room a while later with Liam whom looks at Ruse curiously. With his big blue eyes boring into her soul, she sighs as more guilt consumes her.

"What happened to Ceci?" Liam asks, looking around the room and not finding his 'sister'.

"She had to take care of something," Ruse smiles tightly and sighs in relief that Liam can't tell she's lying.

"Okay, if you say so. I hope she's okay though, I wanted to show her my new game I got as a gift from grandma Molly and grandpa Derek!"

Molly and Derek smile at him and then shoot Ruse accusing looks, Derek more so than Molly since he was in the room and heard and saw everything that happened. Ruse nods and with a slight motion of her hand, dismisses them.

Haruhi and Lily walk out of the room, saying something about 'helping Cecilia' before quickly running to her room. When they make it to Cecilia's room, they find the door closed, so they knock before entering. The two walk cautiously into the dark room and sit on either side of their crying friend on her bed.

"Don't worry too much Cecilia. Your mom will be fine, and she'll take care of everything. I mean she even has a plan," Haruhi says.

Cecilia shakes her head, "It doesn't matter if she has a plan or not, she's gonna die,"

"But-" Lily starts.

"You don't know my parents like I do. My father is an insane bastard bent on revenge and his revenge includes killing my mother and I, and my mother is a forgetful idiot that makes plans that always fail,"

"You doubt her that much?" Haruhi asks.

"No, I just know that my father will kill her before she has the chance to make a move because she will become scared, have sudden flashbacks like I do, and then in those few moments, my father will kill her,"

Haruhi and Lily gulp, not liking the idea of that. Porky, who was lying on Cecilia's lap before he was moved to make room for the two girls, nudges his way under Cecilia's and Haruhi's arms and wiggles to sit on both of their laps. As one, they begin petting him gently and Lily watches Cecilia closely.

"You know, if we tell the others about this, then they can stop her from doing anything too rash."

Cecilia sighs, shaking her head sadly, "If my mom finds out about us telling them, she will leave way earlier just to get a head start, but that will put her life in even more danger, so we cannot."

"What if I call a Host Club meeting and-"

"She will do it while we are at school, and I don't even know what day she wants to do it on."

Haruhi sighs, "Well then we wait."

The two nod and sit in silence. Eventually they go back down and force themselves to eat since they hardly have an appetite. Then, the three head to bed, they all sleep in Lily's room, snuggled close together and holding hands for comfort.

* * *

The following week when they go back to school, Cecilia winces as she examines her short black hair in the mirror. Honestly, she loved her long red hair, and it wouldn't really help her now since her father was out of jail, at least she didn't think so. But either way, she dresses in the Ouran uniform, though her modified version of it, and grabs her bag then follows Lily and Haruhi outside. Lily links arms with Cecilia as they walk to school, Haruhi, dressed in the male uniform of Ouran, walks on the other side of Cecilia.

The three are painfully aware of everything around them, the cars, the people, and the people who watch them, though there are very few. But they watch the crowd for red hair and black eyes, thankfully they don't see any.

"I really wish they didn't dye my hair black, I liked it the way it was…" Cecilia murmurs as she is escorted to their first class; they are quickly followed by the twins, who each have the same class as them.

Tamaki made sure that his father allowed Cecilia to stay in the school, and had all her teachers informed that Cherry had her name changed to Cecilia, and though she looked different, she was the same person. Though all the students believed it was a new student, and that Cherry had left.

Cecilia walked to the teacher's front desk and smiled politely at her, which told the teacher immediately who she was.

"Oh, Cecilia right?" Mrs. Necterline asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. That's me, sorry about any... inconveniences." Cecilia says.

Mrs. Necterlina merely smiles, "No problem, really, just sit where you normally sit and everything will be fine."

Cecilia smiles back and nods, taking her seat besides Lily who smiles at her. They make it through the school day as they normally would, and Cecilia turns in all the late assignments, her name signed as Cecilia, though in parenthesis has Cherry written next to it. They attend the Host Club as if everything were normal, and then Lily and Cherry wait outside in the courtyard for the club to end after their session.

"Hey Cecilia! Hey Lily!" Haruhi calls as she walks over to them, the rest of the Host Club follows behind her, and they smile and wave, excluding Kyoya and Mori of course though. Kyoya and Mori nod in acknowledgement.

Cecilia and Lily stand up and greet them all, then Haruhi begins walking with them. Soon they part ways and only the three girls walk home together, though Lily soon leaves since she lives close to the school. Haruhi and Cecilia talk about homework assignments since they share most of the same classes.

"Well, in math we have a test next class, so I hope you are ready for that since you've been gone for nearly five weeks." Haruhi says.

Cecilia pales and shudders, "I know, and I hate it. At least I got to finish all of my homework since we had none over that one week break."

Haruhi nods, "Yeah, that was nice, but I felt like I didn't get much done, which is weird since I helped you and your mom a lot."

Cecilia laughs and nods in agreement, "Sorry that you haven't been spending a lot of time with your dad, I have a feeling that he's very worried about you."

"Nah, he's fine. When I do see him he's the same as always, so it doesn't really matter, at least I don't think so anyway."

Cecilia laughs awkwardly at this as they continue walking. The sun was shining and the birds were flying leisurely about, singing songs to each other as they went, and then, there was a gunshot, and a scream.

* * *

Eyes widening, pulse quickening, Cecilia and Haruhi stand still, shocked at what they heard, but then they dart off. Now, both girls were very logical and normally stopped to think about the consequences in situations as these, but that scream… That scream sounded just too much like Ruse's for them to stop and think that she screamed for a reason. So, the two of them ran as if their lives depended on it. When they came to a skidding stop, they quickly looked around for any witnesses as to what happened, anybody that had red hair and black eyes, anything.

But there was nothing; no clues as to what happened except for Ruse laying on her side, choking on her own blood as it pooled in her mouth and dripped out slower than it came. Haruhi, finally thinking somewhat, pulled out her cell phone that the twins gave her, and dialed Hikaru's number. She spoke quickly, in a panic, but luckily, other people that soon swarmed around the scene dialed an emergency number and got the ambulance.

Meanwhile Cecilia tilted her mother's head downwards so the blood spilled out of it, opening her airway for oxygen to come through. Then, she rolled her mother onto her back and immediately found the wound. Cecilia's eyes widen and she screams in a panic as she puts pressure on the profusely bleeding hole in her mother's chest. Haruhi gasps as she drops the phone, her hands shaking badly as she sees the gaping wound.

"No…" she whispers, her hands covering her mouth before she stumbles over to the two.

"No! Mom! Mom… you can't die! Stay with me! Please! Mom!" Cecilia cries, tears streaming down her face as she watches her mother's eyes close, her face pale though bloody.

Haruhi checks her pulse and together the two try and keep the woman alive long enough for the ambulance to arrive. When the ambulance gets there, the nurses have to pull the two screaming girls away from the woman before they can get to her. They treat her as much as they need to before putting her gently on the stretcher and loading her into the back of the sirens blare as they drive off but the police stay to investigate the scene. The two are asked to state their names and relations to each other and to Ruse.

"I'm so sorry that you two had to witness that, but thanks to your quick thinking, you were able to keep her alive long enough for the medical team to get here. Now, we will need to ask you two some questions, so can you come with us please?" a police woman asks gently.

They nod and grasp each other's hands as they are escorted into the car and taken to the police station where they are asked many questions. They give a range of time, thanks to Haruhi's phone call to Hikaru, and they report what they heard before, the gunshot and then the scream. After a while, Cecilia remembers a vital piece of information.

"I know who did it." she states venomously.

The policeman that is questioning them looks up, "Really? Who?"

"My father, Eric Quake."

"I know him well. Thank you young ladies, you may leave now. I promise that we will not rest until he is found, he needs to be put up, once and for all."

"But wait." Cecilia says.

"What?"

"That's the thing, I would love for him to be put up in jail, but you can't successfully keep him locked up until he has completed his goal."

He raises an eyebrow in suspicion, "And what is his goal?"

Cecilia takes a deep breath, "His goal is to kill my mother and I. He will keep escaping from jail, no matter their level of security, until he kills the two of us. So, he will try his hardest to not get caught until he kills me since my mother is dying as we speak…"

"I see…"

"But, I do have a plan on how to stop him…"

"Then do go on." the man leans back in his seat, waiting to hear her brilliant idea on how to stop her father.

* * *

**Muahaha! I finally posted another chapter. I am sooooooo sorry about the long wait, I hope I still have my loyal readers, and I hope you forgive me, I just found my inspiration today for many things and it took a while to get to this one. I am in the middle of writing... about 31 different stories, and I got inspiration to a lot of them today, so I've been working all day on writing down everything and then drawing, because I have a project due tomorrow that I just got a brilliant idea for... Yeah, so my day has been very eventful! I do hope that this was a suitable chapter and had a good cliffhanger. :D Oh I just love writing them, yet I hate reading them... How very interesting, but the suspense keeps people reading, so I hope you keep reading.**

**I want to thank you all for the continued support and reviews! It really helps. I went back and read through my reviews on this story today before I wrote, and looking back at them made me smile so big, and then I remembered why I like writing so much. It's because of all the great reviews and support I get from all of you, so thank you so much! I feel like I am doing a big speech but I don't know why, so I will end here.**

**Again thank you all so much! **

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	16. Plan Set In Action

The next day Cecilia and Haruhi walk to school together, arm in arm in fear of being separated. They have plans and they know how it is going to play out. Her father had probably hidden and seen their outfits the day before, from there he would figure out which school they went to. After he figured that out, he would find the best way to get into the school and then get out as quick as possible. Once he found that, he would find Cecilia's classes, and then intercept her either on her way to class and kill her with a knife to the back, or he would get into the school and go on a killing spree, either way suited him perfectly, but in the end, his main goal was to kill his daughter.

That left Cecilia with few options to go with to survive. If she didn't prepare enough, she would be killed, but if she prepared too much, her father would know something was up and would get away without being seen. Then, she would have no idea where he went and she was doomed. She needed to act sad since she needed to act like her mother was dead, and then at the same time, she had to be consoled by her friends without there being too many people around her so her father didn't have a clear shot.

It was practically suicide whichever way she wanted to look at it. Cecilia bit her lip as she made herself look miserable. The moment she walked into the school, Lily, Hikaru and Kaoru met them and walked with them to their first class of the day with Mrs. Necterline. They sat down and realized unsteadily that they were separated too much, if something did happen, they wouldn't be able to get near each other in time to go on with their next plan of action.

There were ten minutes until the bell signaled passing period at the end of class, and nothing had happened. Cecilia glanced at the clock worriedly, and then continued working in a dreadful silence, though everyone about her was abuzz with gossip about the shooting a ways from the school. When class ended and passing period went by smoothly, Cecilia began to wonder if he would even show up to kill her.

Cecilia sat with the Host Club during lunch, though they ate inside, just to be safe. Haruhi and Lily watch her eat nervously as the others are sure to keep a sharp look out for anything suspicious; they sit near the window on one of the top floors. Cecilia sighs and lowers the sandwich that she was about to take a bite from.

"You okay?" Lily asks, glancing at her and putting down her spoon.

Cecilia shakes her head, "Something's not right. I know that he will be here, but I don't know when, though I can tell it will be soon. We mustn't let our guards down, because that will be the moment he strikes."

"Yeah. I'm honestly terrified. There are so many 'what if's' in this plan, that it's unsettling." Lily murmurs softly, her eyes growing moist.

Cecilie draws her into a hug, "That's all the more reason to keep our guards up."

Lily sniffs and nods, "You're right. Thanks," she laughs lightly, "I should be the one cheering you up since your mom is in the emergency room, not the other way around. Sorry."

Cecilia smiles sadly and shakes her head, "It's okay. I don't mind."

They finish eating and then head to class just as the bell rings. Cecilia and Lily go their separate ways for the second to last class of the day, History with her teacher Mrs. Seegia. The two walk into the room and take their seats which are on the opposite sides of the room, and suddenly they tense up. This is what he was waiting for, for them to be separated like this and without any of her other friends. Cecilia and Lily make eye contact seconds before the first gunshot sounds in the hallways.

* * *

Mrs. Seegia's eyes widen before she hurriedly moves to the door, closing and locking it and then turning off the lights. The students get up and rush to a corner in the room farthest from the door where they are unable to be seen unless there were more people outside looking in from the windows. Mrs. Seegia quickly shuts the blinds and pulls the curtains shut before sitting down next to a student.

Lily and Cecilia sit next to each other, their heads low and they sit behind the students as much as they can to try and obscure them from immediate detection. They hold hands tightly, their hands quickly turn white as the blood is squeezed out of the blood vessels. Lily squeezes her eyes close and whimpers, hiding her face into Cecilia's back to muffle the sound of fear. Cecilia gazes up at the door, waiting patiently for the doom that awaits her if the police don't arrive soon.

Six more gunshots sound, each one makes the students squeak in fear and cower down more, clutching each other's hands and crying among some. Finally, _finally_, the door begins to creak under the pressure of a man kicking it, trying to get it to open. It doesn't take long, and by the time the door breaks down, Cecilia and Lily are prepared, mentally, to die for each other.

Eric Quake stands in the doorway, the light coming in from the hallways casts a dark shadow over his features, making it hard to see the details, but his bright red hair is clearly visible. Cecilia silently thanks the twins for dying her red hair, now she knows that it does stand out with the brightness of it, even in the dark. Eric steps into the room, seeing the group huddled in the corner and then begins talking, his voice deep and raspy, giving everyone chills.

"Where is Cherry Quake?" he barks out.

Lily and Cecilia share a look of relief; he didn't know she changed her name.

"Tell me where she is!" he yells when he is met with a frightened silence. Nobody answers until he fires his gun at the ceiling, causing debris to fall, and a scream to reside from someone upstairs who must've been shot. Mrs. Seegia flinches and calls out though her voice is shaky.

"S-she moved away from here! She's b-been gone for weeks!" she says.

Eric glares at her, "I know she's here. I saw her just yesterday, crying over her mother after I shot her to death."

Cecilia growls quietly at this and Lily tears up. Suddenly Eric recognizes Lily for her hair and he orders her to stand up.

Lily shakes her head, crying openly now as she buries her head in Cecilia's back. And then, their eyes meet. Father and daughter; one set to kill the other, while the other is set to lock the one in jail.

* * *

**Haha, that was a fun chapter to write. I read it aloud just to give it a creepy tone and it was sooooo cool! If I do say so myself. :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I do. Also, happy Winter Break! I personally don't like it because I don't get to see anyone, and I'm moving tomorrow, so yeah, that sucks, but oh well. But, I thought, I might as well write a chapter for everyone and for myself just to cheer me up, and to say hello to everyone on the first day of break. I hope you all have a wonderful, stress free break. Thank you for reading! Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	17. Moving On

The two lock eyes, a tense silence fills the room and then it burst into chaos. Eric lifts his gun to Cecilia's head, hatred flashes in his eyes as he pulls the trigger. The next moment is a blur. The students around her scream and scramble to get out of the way. The moment before the trigger is pulled, a police officer rushes into the room and tackles Eric to the ground, causing the bullet, once fired, to shift its aim ever so slightly.

And so, instead of the bullet going through Cecilia's head, it whizzes gently past her face and grazes her cheek briefly before tearing through her ear and lodging in the cupboard behind her head. Eric struggles, but military men pour into the room and immediately restrain him, putting him in cuffs and keeping him under control to the best of their ability. Eric struggles and tears at the men holding him down, screaming and yelling as he stares Cecilia in the eyes.

She blinks, shocked and hurt, though not nearly as badly as she could've been. Blood drips down her face from the wounds yet she sits there, silent and still as a statue as her father yells as her. Her mind races at what just happened; immensely traumatized is not quite the correct word on how to describe how she feels at this moment in time. Suddenly, what happened comes to her in flashes, and her eyes widen, then she screams, scaring the people who hear her over her father's voice. Her scream turns shrill and extremely high which allows everyone to hear it.

Hearing her scream, Eric laughs and grins, but not yet satisfied. Breaking free of the men, he aims the gun that is still clutched tightly in his hand, at Cecilia's heart. She, however, does not notice, but Lily does. Lily screams and jumps in front of her just as the trigger is pulled. Lily's screams echo in the classroom before she falls limp over Cecilia's lap. Eric curses his luck and gets ready to pull the trigger again, but blinks. A loud _BANG_ is heard behind his head. His eyes widen suddenly and stay that way, even as he slumps over, blood pooling around his body.

Cecilia's screams stop, and echo with Lily's last scream, then all goes silent. Cecilia looks down at her best friend, laying in a growing pool of her own blood that soaks both of their clothes red. Tentatively, her badly shaking hand lifts and strokes the hair out of Lily's pain filled face, and she begins crying. Tears leak out of her eyes as she bends over her friend's fallen form and she hugs her tightly, bringing her close to her own body.

"No, Lily… please, not you too…" Cecilia sobs.

Mrs. Seegia gently pulls her away to let someone with professional training check her body, after he checks Eric to make sure he is dead. Soon, he glances back and smiles gently.

"She is going to be okay, she will need immediate medical attention, but the wound is not life threatening. She was shot in the thigh, but will be okay." he says before turning back to her.

Cecilia nods and then blinks, her vision being swallowed by darkness. She gratefully welcomes the darkness to escape from the trauma of the past few minutes.

* * *

The next day in the morning papers, posted on the front page in bolded lettering, the news of the school shooting at Ouran is featured.

**"Private School Shooting - Four staff members injured, two students dead, and two in the hospital. _Yesterday at Ouran Academy, a mass shooting took place. There were many gunshots, and the military were called in to take down the shooter (an ex-military member gone insane). Four staff members are now in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to be okay. Two students were shot and killed; their families are now grieving over the loses. Two other students are in the hospital, both with non-life threatening injuries as well. The shooter, Eric Quake, was killed in order to be taken down."_**

Kyoya, Mitsukuni, Takashi, Tamaki, Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru sit in the waiting room, being updated on Lily's, Cecilia's and Ruse's conditions every few hours. After five days, Cecilia wakes up and demands to know if Lily is alright. The nurse merely smiles at her and nods, saying that Lily had woken up four days ago and is now recovering nicely. Cecilia smiles and relaxes, thinking deeply over what happened at the school five days ago.

Her father easily could have killed her, but he was off just enough to where the bullet didn't hit her. She knew that her father was strong enough to not be knocked off balance, so he must have allowed himself to be knocked over. A strange thought occurred in her mind then. _What if he didn't want to kill her, or her mother? What if it was for show and he just wanted to seem like the bad guy before he was killed?_ Cecilia groaned, there were too many possibilities, and now she would never know why he didn't simply kill her and Ruse. He had a perfect chance to kill Ruse, but he left her to be found, knowing that Cecilia and Haruhi were just around the corner. And then he had a clear shot at Cecilia's head, and had aimed at the center of her forehead, but had missed, and seemingly on _purpose_.

Her head swam, so she focused on the ceiling to stop herself from over thinking things. But it didn't help. She couldn't help but wonder, _why_?

* * *

A few months later, the three women walk arm-in-arm down the sidewalk towards their destination.

"I can't believe that he's gone." Lily mumbles.

Cecilia nods, "It feels weird, yet very comforting to know that he will never bother us again."

Ruse smiles at the blue sky, "The dark shadow he cast over our lives has cleared, and now instead of a shadow, a bright blue sky greets us around the corner. We are free, even if we still have emotional scars, or physical ones, we will be okay."

Lily and Cecilia grin, "Yeah, as long as we look out for each other, everything will be okay."

"There you three are! We've been waiting forever for you to show up!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaim dramatically, waving cheerfully.

"Sorry, sorry. We got lost on the path of life on such a beautiful day." Ruse says serenely.

Tamaki groans, "Not this again! That's the fifteenth time you've used that excuse!"

Cecilia raises an eyebrow, "You've been counting?"

Tamaki blinks, realizing what he said, "Well… no… but it feels like the fifteenth time…" he speaks quietly, as if confused but slightly sad, like he was scolded.

They laugh. Haruhi walks over to Lily and Cecilia who in turn sling an arm over her shoulders and smile at the same time. Haruhi rolls her eyes, it was like deja vu. The twins did this to her often, and ever since the shooting, Lily and Cecilia have become much closer friends, therefore they began acting similar. Once they accidentally did the same greeting to each other at the same time, and had a sudden realization and urge to act like well coordinated twins, like Hikaru and Kaoru.

So, they often teased Haruhi just for the fun of it and to get her back for many times of awkward encounters because of her too laid back personality. Haruhi sighs.

"Are you two ever going to stop? I didn't mean to insult you when you guys came out of the hospital, I just don't know how to act in those kinds of situations. I didn't mean anything by it."

The two merely laugh and hug her, "But of course we forgive you! It's just fun, no wonder Hikaru and Kaoru do this to you all the time."

Hearing their names in the conversation, the two trouble makers glide over to the three girls and join in on their playful teasing. Ruse laughs as she further steps back from the growing group of teens. Mori, Honey and Kyoya talk amongst themselves, leaving Tamaki to move over to the twins and girls for attention.

It was the last week of school, and Tamaki and Kyoya were graduating from Ouran High School. All would be different in the Host Club with two of their most popular members gone, and then three more after that, and the club would be gone unless others took their place. Cecilia and Lily sigh in unison and step away from their friends, moving closer to Ruse as they watch their friends talk and tease each other. Soon, everything would be different, and that thought startled them. The others however, tried hard not to think about it, though it loomed over their heads like an ominous storm cloud.

Suddenly Hikaru nudges Kaoru and winks. Kaoru blinks and looks at his twin with a question in his eyes. Hikaru rolls his eyes and then looks at Cecilia pointedly, then back at Kaoru. Kaoru, getting the hint, shakes his head. Hikaru nods with a grin. Kaoru shakes his head furiously until he feels slightly dizzy. Hikaru struggles not to laugh at his twin, knowing that he often wasn't one to be known as, insightful, Kaoru must be pretty surprised that he had caught onto his crush.

Kaoru's eyes glint as he then proceeds to nudge Hikaru towards Haruhi, but Hikaru shakes his head. Kaoru grins and nods and Hikaru glares at him. This results in the two staring one another down until they are both fed up and yell at the same time, "Just tell her you like her!"

Everyone looks at them, making them both blush in embarrassment, but neither back down as they continue to nudge and shove each other. After a while, with not one of them getting anywhere with their twin, Ruse steps in and pushes each of them towards their crushes.

"How about _both_ of you go and tell your respective crushes you like them. That way, you get it out of the way and they can either like you back or not." Ruse sighs dramatically as she shoves them again.

Kaoru and Hikaru blush brilliant shades of red, their ears burning as they slowly begin walking towards their crushes, though Hikaru doesn't have to go very far. Haruhi blinks and begins blushing when Hikaru walks towards her, but she already knew that she didn't like him in return, so she would be honest and get it over with. Hikaru opened his mouth but then shut it and looked off to the side, blushing a deeper scarlet as he began rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

He takes a deep breath and sighs then speaks, "Haruhi, I l-like y-"

"I'm sorry Hikaru." Haruhi interrupts him, feeling bad that she has to let him down, but knows that she has to be blunt or he won't get it, "But I don't like you like that. I think of you more like a brother, or a really good friend, and it would be awkward for me if I dated you because of it. I hope that you can recover over time and like someone else and that this doesn't scar you for life. There is someone out there who does like you, but it isn't me."

Hikaru blinks and clears his throat after an awkward moment, feeling dejected and slightly mortified; leave it to Haruhi to be blunt and to the point, no matter what the subject is. He coughs into his fist and nods.

"I see, well can we… uh, still be friends?" he asks quietly.

Haruhi nods, "That would be fine with me. I am truly sorry though."

"I-it's fine."

Kaoru flinches as he listens to his brother and his crush, hopefully that wasn't the same with him. He winces as he thinks of how he would feel if that happened to him; it wouldn't bode well. So, feeling less than brave, and more than nervous, he straightens up and continues walking. Finally, he stops in front of Cecilia and, drawing up as much courage as he can muster, he looks her straight in the eye.

"Cecilia, I like you." he says clearly.

Cecilia blinks, twice, letting it settle a moment before mulling over what she would tell him. She slowly smiles at him, trying not to be creepy, and tilts her head to the side slightly.

"I like you too, I think. I mean, I haven't really liked anyone before since I have a fear of males, but you changed that, along with the help of the Host Club, so I'm slowly getting over my fear. But, I'm willing to give it a try, by that I mean… like… going on dates or…" she pauses awkwardly and blushes, fiddling her thumbs, "Well, do you get what I mean?"

Kaoru grins and nods, "So, would you like to go on a date with me this weekend?"

Cecilia nods with a smile as well, "Yes, I would really like that."

Lily grins and nudges Cecilia while raising her eyebrows, clearly suggesting something, though Cecilia is not sure what. So, she just laughs and Lily joins in, knowing her friend didn't get it. Kaoru grins as he walks back towards his twin, throwing his arm around his neck he can't help but feel overly proud of himself and thrilled that she likes him back. Hikaru watches his brother with envy but musters up an encouraging smile when he comes back.

"Nicely done Kaoru." he says.

"Thanks!" Kaoru laughs gleefully, "That was much easier than I thought. And I'm really sorry that it didn't work out for you though."

Hikaru shakes his head, "It's fine. I get to watch you have fun… that's all that matters."

"Thanks Hikaru. That means a lot."

Hikaru nods and soon the group of friends walk down the sidewalk happily, for the most part.

* * *

The next morning Cecilia wakes up early. She quickly gets ready and dresses in her altered school uniform, pulling a comb through her now shoulder length black hair that is slowly fading back to the bright red it once was. The fading gives her hair a unique hair color, a deep red with a few highlights of bright red where it had already faded. If she said so herself, she looked pretty badass. She takes her time it applying mascara, a look she recently started liking since she hadn't really worn makeup before.

Then, she slips into her heels and grabs her school bag. Being somewhat quiet, so she doesn't wake up her mom, she walks out of their shared room in the hotel and meets up with Liam in the lobby. Liam smiles up at her, having gotten used to her new appearance so he wasn't creeped out anymore, and grabs her free hand. Together, they walk to Liam's school which is a couple blocks away from Ouran. Today was the day that Liam's bullies would leave him alone, he was sure of it, he had his big sister to help him and with her new appearance, the bullies would be terrified of her.

He grinned and giggled to himself as they walked, their arms swinging as they went. Cecilia glanced at him from the corner of her eye, raising an eyebrow at his giggling, she smiled.

"What's up with you? You seem extremely happy this morning." she says lightly.

Liam grins up at her, "Well yeah! Today you are coming with me to school and the bullies are gonna leave me alone once they see what an awesome sister I have!"

She smiles, her heart melting at his sweet words, though she knows what he secretly means, since her hair was fading and she wore mascara, it gave her a dark look, and it would probably scare the bullies into not bothering him. But, as long as they leave him alone, then she was fine that they were scared of her. They soon make it to his school and he eagerly leads her to his classroom where he has to wait outside the door until the teacher lets them in.

Cecilia glances at her watch to make sure she has enough time to walk to Ouran, before she looks up and is met with the sight of Liam being surrounded by five boys his age. She scowls but waits a moment to see what happens. She watches as they shout at him, calling him names and dissing him for living with his grandparents. But then, one of them raises their hand to hit him, and she snaps. Dropping her bag, she runs over to the group and yells at them, grabbing the arm of the boy about to hit Liam.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?! You weren't going to hit him were you?" she growls.

The boy gulps and shakes his head quickly.

"Good, because I now know what you look like and can find out who your parents are. If you ever raise a hand to Liam again, I will find you and make sure you are punished for hurting my little brother. Do you understand?" she doesn't let go of his arm, waiting until he nods and begins tearing up in fear before she lets him go.

The other four had fled the second they heard her start yelling. She sighs and runs a hand through her hair, messing it up slightly. Cecilia turns and looks at Liam who stares up at her in wonder.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

He nods, "You were… AWESOME! Cecilia thank you so much! You saved me big time! You're the greatest sister ever!" he cries and hugs her tightly around the waist.

She hugs him back then ruffles his hair when he lets go of her.

"Glad I could help. Now, what were their names? I want to have a word with your teacher about their behavior."

Liam nods and they walk towards his class. Cecilia crouches down to grab her bag and then listens as he lists off the kid's names one by one. With a smile she nods and once the students are let inside, she speaks to the teacher alone. His teacher nods, "Yes, I am very sorry about that. I will make sure their parents know and that they are punished properly, or, at least my son will be. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I have finally gotten enough complaints by parents, or, in your case, siblings, to bring this to the principal with enough evidence. So thank you. I hope you have a good day."

Cecilia nods, "Thank you, I will. Have a good day yourself."

"Thank you."

And then they part ways. Now, Liam will be safe at school, and hopefully she won't have to worry about him being bullied again. But if that isn't the case, she silently promises to always be there for Liam, no matter what. No one would bully her little brother now that she's his big sister, she would make sure of it. And it doesn't matter if it is a girl or a boy bullying him, for slowly, with the help of her closest friends, she has gotten over her fear of males. And with more time, she knows that she will overcome her odd fear and be set free from the past.

* * *

**Muaha! One more chapter left, then it's over. It feels weird, but I'm very happy, for this chapter turned out very well if I do say so myself. I think it's actually the best chapter I've written. Wow, I want to thank everyone for supporting this story as I wrote it. It really means a lot to me that people took the time to review and cared so much about my well being, though it did mean I would hopefully update faster. Just, thank you, all of you. One chapter to go! Yeah! **

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


	18. The End Is Only The Beginning

It's a nice fall day, a slight cool breeze floats through the town where the famous Ouran Academy resides, sitting silently in all it's wondrous glory as the first bell rings, signaling the beginning of classes. But, there are no Hosts there anymore, they have all graduated and have no peers willing to take over; or at least that is what they say, truly there were many people up for the job, but none were dashing enough to sweep a lady off her feet by a simple glance. So now, the female population of Ouran can only remember the handsome Hosts and admire their lingering presence that has yet to fade; tales of the beautiful Hosts are told by the upperclassmen to the younger ones who dream about meeting the famous Hosts.

But, the Hosts have found their true meanings to life, as one would say. The Hitachiin twins own their mother's fashion business, occasionally getting help from their mother for advice, though they don't need much. Mitsukuni Haninozuka became a feared but highly respected teacher to martial arts students who aren't being trained because they are in his family. Takashi Morinozuka is Mitsukuni's second in command, taking over the class whenever Honey needs a break or something is wrong.

Tamaki Souh took over his father's business but makes plenty of time to do fun things in his free time. Kyoya Ootori managed to surpass his older brothers and became the next in line of his father's business though he politely declined, much to the surprise of his family members. He found peace and decided to take control of The Black Onion Squad, his family's private police force while keeping tabs on the family owned hospital. Haruhi Fujioka is currently packing her bags to go to America. Lily entered the fashion business and is Hikaru and Kaoru's personal assistant though she often goes out of her way to create her own things, much to the amusement of the twins. As for Cecilia, well, she started college to be a veterinarian.

In the present time, Kaoru walks swiftly inside a large building, ignoring the swooning girls he walks past, and making his way to the front office. He waits patiently for the man at the desk to get off the phone, once he does Kaoru clears his throat.

"Excuse me, but I am here to visit someone." Kaoru says lightly.

"Who are you looking for?" the man asks as he rummages through some stacks of paper, looking for a name tag that will allow Kaoru further access.

"Cecilia Oakenbur."

"Oh Cecilia?" the man looks up as he hands Kaoru the name tag, making him fill it out.

"Yeah, you know her?"

"Yes, she likes to visit the nurse on site during her lunch period."

Kaoru blinks, _I wonder why__,_ before he smiles lightly, placing the name tag on his shirt.

"Let me check something out real quick, I'll be just a moment."

Kaoru nods and sits down, tapping his foot impatiently as he waits. A few moments later the man laughs and calls Kaoru over before ripping the name tag off his shirt, much to Kaoru's surprise.

"Hey! What are you doing-"

"Cecilia will be getting out of class in five minutes. You can wait outside because this is her last class of the day."

"Oh. Thank you." Kaoru nods at the man before walking out of the building, sighing in irritation.

He waits for seven minutes before the door opens and Cecilia walks out, humming a small tune to herself.

"Cecilia, there you are!" Kaoru calls as he walks over to her.

"Kaoru? What are you doing here?"

"Can't your boyfriend pick you up from school?" he pouts teasingly.

Cecilia rolls her eyes but lets out a small gasp when Kaoru hugs her suddenly when she's not paying attention. Kaoru grins as he hugs her, bending down slightly to accommodate for her height. Cecilia smiles and hugs him back; he pulls away and straightens with an innocent smile. They grasp each other's hands as they begin walking down the sidewalk towards an unknown destination.

"So, how are Hikaru and Lily doing?" Cecilia asks as she shifts her bag so it's not putting too much weight on one area.

Kaoru grins, "Great. They started making out randomly during work the other day," he cringes, "and I had to shove them into a different room."

Cecilia giggles at this; after Haruhi and Tamaki started dating a year or so ago, Hikaru and Lily grew close and eventually confessed their growing feelings for each other after a little... _persuasion__._ Really it was a shove that tripped them into kissing one another but they didn't mind, not that much anyway. Kaoru pulls her to the left and leads them to a small cafe that they found a while back after their trip to the hot springs a couple years ago. It served amazing sweets and had a nice variety of teas and salads, among other things. Cecilia smiles at the woman who takes their apparent reservation for nine people and leads them to a table outside near a group of aspen trees.

Kaoru pulls out her chair for her, to which she thanks him even though it was still an odd thing to her, then sits down next to her. They glance over the menu briefly then ask the waitress for glasses of water. As they are waiting, Tamaki and Haruhi sit down across from them.

"Good afternoon Haruhi!" Cecilia smiles, "Good afternoon Tamaki. How are you two doing lately?"

"We are doing great. How about you and Kaoru?" Haruhi replies with a smile back, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

Cecilia blushes, "We a-are doing great too."

Haruhi grins widely, "That's good. For a while there I was worried that Kaoru was going to scare you into being afraid of guys again! I'm glad that he hasn't."

The two girls laugh when Kaoru flushes an embarrassed shade of red, exclaiming, "I wouldn't do that!" hastily. It merely causes them to laugh harder.

"So, when are you leaving for America Haruhi?" Cecilia suddenly asks.

Haruhi shakes her head, "I have to tell everyone, so you have to be patient, okay?"

Cecilia nods and quickly blinks back any tears that have grown. Haruhi decided that she would travel overseas to study abroad in America, a growing dream she's had ever since they were seniors at Ouran. It would be sad to see one of her closest friends leave, but she would be back once she finished college, and Cecilia wasn't worried, Tamaki, no matter if he was an idiot, would probably follow her there anyway just to keep her safe.

Slowly, the rest of the Hosts show up and then Lily who walks while holding Hikaru's hand with a bright smile on her face.

"Everyone's here now, so, I have something to tell you all." Haruhi begins, squeezing Tamaki's hand for comfort.

Her friends look at her, curious, "What's up Haruhi? Did something happen?" Mitsukuni asks.

She shakes her head, but then thinks about it and nods, "Sort of. So… I've decided where I am going to college."

"Really? Where?" Lily asks enthusiastically.

"I'm going to study abroad in America." she states calmly.

This causes Lily, Hikaru, and Honey to gasp in shock.

"You are? When are you leaving?!" Honey asks.

She smiles sadly, "Tonight. That's why I wanted to have one last meeting with everyone before I left since I'll be gone for a couple years."

Lily tears up and reaches across the table, she's sitting next to Cecilia who sits in front of her, and grasps her free hand.

"Be sure to have fun, okay?" Lily smiles through her tears.

Haruhi begins tearing up as well which makes tears well up in Cecilia's eyes too. The three girls start crying and Haruhi lets go of Tamaki's hand to grab Cecilia's hand. Lily lets go of Hikaru's hand and Cecilia lets go of Kaoru's hand so they can hold hands as well. The three girls smile at each other through their tears and laugh while choking on sobs.

Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru and Honey start tearing up at the touching sight and cry openly. Kyoya and Mori glance at each other, the only ones not visibly showing their sadness. After everyone calms down Kyoya speaks.

"I hope you are safe when you travel, and have fun while you are gone, but don't forget us either." he speaks gently, allowing emotions to seep out into his voice.

Haruhi nods and smiles at him, "Thanks, I'll be safe, promise."

They soon move onto a different topic and talk for the rest of the afternoon. By 6:00pm Haruhi gets up to leave so she doesn't miss her flight. Her friends all hug her goodbye and walk her out after paying for their food, wishing her luck and safety. Haruhi smiles and hugs everyone one last time before she leaves.

On the plane to America, Haruhi sighs, thinking about all the fun times she had with the Host Club, now she was leaving them for a few years, and she was going to miss them so much. When Cecilia came into their lives, she brought along trouble and lots of headaches, but she was fun and Haruhi was really going to miss her. And then Lily, the little troublemaker, she was a handful as well, almost as much as Hikaru, but when you put her and Cecilia together, they were just as much trouble as the twins together. It was ironic how Cecilia started dating Kaoru, the twin who she was most like, while Lily started dating Hikaru, the twin who she was most like.

Haruhi grins as she is lulled to sleep by the comfort of the memories of the previous years. Now, if only Tamaki was there, then everything would be fine, Haruhi thinks as she drifts off to sleep. Little did she know, Tamaki was on the same plane, watching her fall asleep with a smile on his face. Everything would be okay in the end.

* * *

**And that's it. The story is, finished... Wow, I feel sad now, but happy at the same time, and I am not doing a sequel, just so you all know. I hope you liked the ending. It was difficult to write the end, because it made me sad, the story is _over_, I mean, like what the heck?! It's done. I don't know, but thank you all for such great reviews and support throughout the process of writing this. It made me smile so big every time I read a new review, it lifted my spirits. Thank you everyone. :)**

**Love,**

**~Fluttershy 2059123~**


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